EU leader Costa and the German government have hit back at a US security strategy that harshly criticizes Europe.
European Council President Antonio Costa and the German government have slammed a new U.S. national security strategy that paints Europe as a troubled, declining power that may one day lose its usefulness as an ally of the United States.
Monday’s comments by the European Union’s major economy and one of its top officials were a scathing rebuke of the national security strategy released Friday by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
The 33-page document contains scathing criticism of the continent, claiming it faces the “prospect of civilizational erasure” due to immigration, disparaging the “censorship of free speech” and suppression of anti-immigration movements, and hinting at the possibility of withdrawing the security umbrella the United States has long held over the continent.
The tough stance on the strategy, which comes as the United States ramps up pressure on Ukraine to agree to a plan to end the war with Russia, comes as European Union leader Costa said the relationship between the United States and Europe had “changed.”
“We need to focus on building a Europe that has to understand that our allies and our alliances have changed since World War II,” Costa told the Paris think tank Institut Jacques Delors.
In response to comments in the strategy paper on freedom of speech, Mr. Costa warned that “freedom of speech will never exist if the people’s freedom of information is sacrificed to the ends of America’s high-tech oligarchy.”
Costa strongly criticized claims that free speech is being censored in Europe, saying only Europeans can decide which political party should govern their country.
“What we cannot accept is this threat to interfere in European political life. The United States cannot decide on behalf of the European people which party is right and which party is wrong,” Costa said.
“The United States cannot replace Europe in its vision of free speech,” he said, adding: “Our history teaches us that without freedom of information, there is no freedom of speech.”
“Ideology, not strategy”
German government deputy spokesman Sebastian Hille said in Berlin that some of the criticisms in the document were “more ideological than strategic.”
“Political freedoms, including the right to freedom of expression, are among the fundamental values of the EU,” he said.
He said Berlin also disagrees that the document does not classify Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022, as a threat.
He added: “We support NATO’s joint analysis that Russia is a danger and a threat to transatlantic security.”
Division over Russia
A US strategic document makes clear that the US wants to improve relations with Russia, saying the US has a “core interest” in ending the conflict with Ukraine in order to “re-establish strategic stability with Russia”, while criticizing European officials’ “unrealistic expectations” for a resolution to the war.
The US’ initial plan to end the war would have allowed Russia to keep large swaths of territory in eastern Ukraine, but sparked criticism from European leaders amid concerns that the US was trying to force Kiev to accept less favorable terms.
The plan has since been revised, first with input from Ukraine along with its European allies, and then in meetings between Ukrainian and U.S. officials. Full details of the proposal have not been disclosed at this time.
In contrast, the Russian government has welcomed President Trump’s strategy document.
Considering the strategic document’s position on Ukraine, Costa said, “I can understand why Russia shares (that) vision.”
“The aim of this strategy is not a just and lasting peace. It is only the end of hostilities and the stability of relations with Russia.”
“Everyone wants a stable relationship with Russia, but we cannot have a stable relationship with Russia as long as Russia continues to be a threat to our national security,” Costa said.
