U.S. President Donald Trump (Republican) listens to a speech by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland on January 21, 2026.
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Former European Commissioner José Manuel Barroso said relations between Europe and the United States were facing their “worst period” since the inception of NATO, with America’s destructive approach to diplomacy forcing allies to reconsider their transatlantic ties.
“There are some doubts about our relationship with the United States,” Barroso, a former Portuguese prime minister, said in an interview with CNBC’s “China Connection” on Monday, noting that the loss of trust extends beyond the European Union to include the United Kingdom.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s goal of acquiring Denmark’s semi-autonomous territory of Greenland has threatened military action and increased tariffs against European countries, undermining confidence in the United States among European leaders and citizens.
Barroso said relations between Europe and the United States have become increasingly driven by interests, moving away from the traditional model based on shared “democratic values” and are currently in a “discontinuity phase” where it is unclear “where we go from here.”
President Trump has backed away from his extremist stance, ruling out the use of military force and threatening to impose tariffs on European countries to pressure them into helping the United States acquire Arctic islands, but he remains steadfast in his goal of controlling Arctic territory.
In a social media post last week after a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, President Trump said there was a “framework for a future agreement” regarding Greenland, but did not provide details or whether Denmark had agreed to a deal. Rutte later said the issue of ownership of Greenland did not come up in his meeting with Trump.
Barroso described President Trump as a “great destroyer” and sometimes “harder on our allies and friends than on our adversaries.”
A survey conducted in November by the European Council on Foreign Relations, an international think tank, found that just 16% of Europeans see the United States as an ally who shares similar values, down from 21% in 2024, and an “alarming” 20% see the United States as a rival or enemy.
The collapse in trust was most evident in the UK, where the share fell from 37% the previous year to 25%.
Barroso said European leaders are also accelerating efforts toward “European sovereignty” in defense as the Trump administration increases pressure on regional defense spending.
“If we want to preserve NATO, it will be a more Europeanized NATO,” Barroso said, adding that Europe should prioritize strengthening its own defenses rather than relying solely on the United States.
At last year’s NATO summit in The Hague, member states pledged to invest the equivalent of 5% of their economic output in defense and security spending by 2035, following months of pressure from Washington.
Barroso said NATO is now stronger than it was before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, pointing to the participation of Sweden and Finland and saying the alliance is now operationally closer to Russia’s borders. NATO is increasing its military presence along its eastern flank in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
While sounding pessimistic about the state of relations between Europe and the United States, Barroso said the United States remains important to European security and cautioned against calling this the end of the transatlantic alliance.
