Brussels Edition: Troop Withdrawal

The prospect of US troop withdrawal from Europe looms large as foreign ministers meet ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

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Welcome to the Brussels Edition. I’m Suzanne Lynch, Bloomberg’s Brussels bureau chief, bringing you the latest from the EU each weekday. Make sure you’re signed up. EU foreign ministers meet in Brussels today as the prospect of a partial US troop withdrawal from Europe looms large. Washington said this month that it plans to cut the US’s military presence in Germany by more than 5,000 troops, deepening concerns about a growing rift within NATO. Countries are lining up to tout their credentials as a possible base if Trump opts to relocate the troops. The US President indicated Sunday he could move troops to Poland, lauding the US relationship with the country.   Speaking to Bloomberg TV this morning, the foreign ministers of Latvia and Lithuania said their countries would be ready to host more US soldiers. “We are having a number of conversations with American allies, and they also say we are a model ally,” Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze said. “We would very much welcome that development.” Her Lithuanian counterpart Kestutis Budrys said that Vilnius welcomes US troops “wherever they are” on the continent, though said the closer those forces are to Russia the more effective their role in deterrence. Budrys touted his country’s “state-of-the-art conditions” for hosting soldiers, which he said could be expanded. Alongside about 1,000 US troops, Lithuania already hosts a German battle tank brigade that will have as many as 5,000 personnel on the ground by the end of 2027.   Arriving for today’s meeting, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said it was important that US troops stay in Europe. Others, however, played down the threat posed by Trump’s equivocation on US commitment to troops.  Finland’s Elina Valtonen pointed out that a level of 5,000 troops “doesn’t make a huge difference in overall US posture in Europe,” noting that it would be a whole different story if more were involved. The US has roughly 85,000 personnel stationed around Europe. As Bloomberg reported this weekend, US allies in Europe anticipate that Trump will announce further withdrawals, possibly from Italy, and scrap a plan dating back to Joe Biden’s presidency to station long-range missiles in Germany. The Latest Amazon is preparing to issue Swiss franc bonds for the first time, as Big Tech hyperscalers turn to new debt markets to fund artificial intelligence spending. The new government of Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar is risking a standoff with the EU over a plan to stick with Russian energy purchases. President Donald Trump and Iran rejected each other’s latest peace proposals to end the 10-week conflict as the two sides struggle to maintain a fragile ceasefire. The European Central Bank will raise interest rates twice this year as the Iran war drives inflation higher, a Bloomberg survey showed. The EU put forward updated benchmark values for its flagship carbon market in a bid to address concerns about the region’s declining competitiveness. Seen and Heard on Bloomberg UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed to put Britain “at the heart of Europe” as he delivered a make-or-break speech this morning following a drubbing in local elections last week. “The last government was defined by breaking our relationship with Europe. This Labour government will be defined by rebuilding our relationship with Europe,” he said. Starmer, who has faced calls to resign by several Labour MPs, said he would prove the doubters wrong. Chart of the Day Donald Trump’s push to bring down drug prices in the US has rattled the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies. Now they’re confronting a new challenge as Germany seeks to plug a ballooning deficit in its public health-insurance funds. Europe’s biggest economy splurges more than half a trillion euros ($587 billion) a year on healthcare, making it the most expensive system on the continent by some distance. If nothing is done to rein in spending, the government projects the shortfall will swell to €40 billion by 2030 at a time when public finances are already stretched. Coming up Press Conference by EU High Representative Kaja Kallas following Foreign Affairs Council this afternoon French President Emmanuel Macron in Kenya today EU defense ministers meet in Brussels tomorrow Final Thought Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was dealt a blow after the King appointed her rival, the head of the Liberal Party, Troels Lund Poulsen, to take over government-formation talks. He now has a two-week deadline. Frederiksen failed to secure majority backing in negotiations with left-leaning and centrist parties nearly seven weeks after elections, with no party leader commanding a clear majority. Troels Lund Poulsen, leader of the Liberal Party, speaks at their party’s election night event at the Parliament in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. 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