“What we cannot accept is the threat of interference in European politics,” EU Council President Antonio Costa said at a discussion at the Jacques Delors Institute in Brussels on Monday.
Costa’s statement, which also emphasized European sovereignty, came in response to the new US national security strategy, which is largely seen as an insult to Europe.
The US government regularly publishes roadmaps for its future security policy. It can be seen as an indication of what to expect from the US in Europe in the future and the latest version criticizes European institutions.
Democracy is believed to be in danger
In the introduction to the National Security Strategy, US President Donald Trump said: “This document is a roadmap to ensure that America remains the greatest and most successful nation in human history,” he said. wrote,
The US government clearly states that it primarily takes care of national interests. Europe remains a strategic partner, but it is widely criticized.
Economic recession, stifled political freedoms, and flawed migration policy: from the American perspective, Europe is headed in the wrong direction. The allegations are countless.
European institutions are said to restrict freedom of expression and suppress opposition, and national identities are being lost. “Should current trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less,” the paper says, adding: “The era of mass migration must end.”
‘Not diplomatic but transactional policy’
Judy Dempsey of the think tank Carnegie Europe sees the paper as a continuation of the MAGA (Make America Great Again) policy. “Now we know where the Trump administration stands,” he told DW. He added, “It’s good.”
In his view, this is “not diplomatic policy, but transactional policy. It means: everything has a price. This is the core of MAGA.”
Dempsey said the strategy made it clear that “if you want to have a good relationship, the United States is going to defend its economic and trade policies.”
Furthermore, the US government intends to take action itself in the future and help Europe correct its current path.
“Our goal should be to help Europe correct its current trajectory,” the paper reads.
The idea is to develop “resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations”. The US government views the influence of “patriotic European parties” positively.
According to a recent media report report According to German national radio broadcaster Deutschlandfunk, it may be a sign of growing ties between Germany’s far-right AfD (Alternative for Deutschland) party and prominent American Republican politicians.
Its specific implications can already be seen in Marco Rubio’s directives: the US Secretary of State has asked US diplomats in Europe to lobby national governments to restrict immigration as much as possible.
Different viewpoint in Brussels
It is in America’s interest to resolve Russia’s war in Ukraine in order to stabilize the European economy. However, according to the strategy document, the Trump administration finds itself “at odds with European politicians who have unrealistic expectations of war”.
This can be explained by the fact that the two sides have fundamentally different approaches, says Ian Lesser, executive director of the Brussels office of the German Marshall Fund. “Whereas [US] The administration sees this simply as an unpleasant problem that should be fixed and put aside, taken off the table to move on to other issues, Europe is clearly interested in seeing a ceasefire and settlement,” he told DW’s Terry Schultz in early December.
“In Europe … it is understood as a symbol of a much bigger problem, which is how do you live with Russia and a more aggressive Russia in the future,” he said.
Kaja Callas: ‘Some of it is true’
While many EU observers are concerned about the US signals, leading EU politicians remain committed to the transatlantic partnership. The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, was keen to return to a friendly diplomatic tone.
“Of course, there is a lot of criticism, but I think some of it is also true,” he said of the strategy paper at the 2025 Doha Forum last weekend.
“Europe is underestimating its power, especially toward Russia, and we must be more self-confident,” Callas said, adding, “The United States is still our greatest ally. And it is in America’s interest that we work together.”
“When it comes to EU-related decisions, they are taken by the EU, for the EU, including decisions related to the protection of our regulatory autonomy and free speech,” Anita Hipper, the chief European spokeswoman for foreign affairs and security at the European Commission, told the European Commission’s midday briefing on Monday.
Costa: ‘America cannot decide’
EU Council President Antonio Costa highlighted the importance of transatlantic relations, although he also stressed Europe’s sovereignty.
“The United States cannot decide on behalf of European citizens which parties are right and which are wrong,” he said at the Jacques Delors Institute in Brussels. “If we want to protect ourselves, not only from our adversaries but also from the allies we challenge, we need to strengthen Europe,” he said.
Judy Dempsey of Carnegie Europe laments the lack of a unified strategy on the part of the EU.
“There will be no European response because there is neither a strategic vision nor a world view as to how it should demonstrate its ambition, if it has any,” he said.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has not yet commented on the new US security strategy.
This article was originally published in German.