MADRID, May 22. /TASS/. Europe fears that US defense-related decisions could be the first step toward a structural reconfiguration of NATO or even a significant curtailment of Washington’s participation in the alliance, reports the Spanish daily El Pais.

Adding to this air of uncertainty is America's stated intention to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany, its review of forces deployed in Poland, and initiative to freeze the project to deploy Tomahawk missiles in Germany, El Pais wrote. According to the newspaper, the US is moving toward a more cooperative relationship with NATO and seeks to maintain military capabilities in Europe that directly serve its global strategic interests, which are increasingly focused on the Americas and Asia and less on European territory.

Washington previously warned that it would reduce its role within the alliance. However, the newspaper writes, allies are only now beginning to realize that the changes are real. The publication also notes a growing sense in Berlin, Paris, and Brussels that transatlantic relations are entering a phase of strategic uncertainty not seen since the end of the Cold War. Concerns in European capitals are not limited to the content of decisions made; they are also linked to the manner in which they are communicated, the publication notes.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that the United States will carefully re-examine its policy within NATO. "We pay trillions of dollars for NATO and they weren’t there for us," he claimed, referring to allies’ actions in the situation around Iran.