The formal reiteration of Trump’s foreign policy approach has unsettled many in Europe who see the latest US national security strategy as a clear declaration of interference in its internal politics, and intended to boost the prospects of the European far right.
“This is an attempt to interfere in Europe’s domestic politics, to undermine democratic processes and to promote far-right parties,” said Guntram Wolff, senior fellow at the Brussels-based Bruegel think tank.
Experts say the strategy is more than just an acknowledgment of overlapping views on certain issues like immigration, but points to a larger game plan – to divide the 27-member European Union (EU) along ideological lines and weaken the bloc in order to dominate it.
Zsuzsanna Vegh, associate researcher at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), said that weakening the EU as a global actor serves the US administration’s interests: “A divided Europe would be even weaker and easier to dominate on trade issues.”
Trump’s national security strategy strikes a chord between MAGA and the European far right
Several far-right parties in Europe, such as Fidesz in Hungary, Alternative for Germany (AfD), and National Rally in France, are opposed to immigration and voice Euroscepticism to varying degrees.
MAGA’s worldview often aligns with the far right in Europe, particularly on immigration from Islamic countries. Now, a US national security document warns of “civilizational extinction” in Europe over the next two decades as a result of high immigration and low birth rates.
The document also accuses the EU of censoring free speech and suppressing political opposition – suggesting that the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) is hindering the freedom of speech of far-right supporters, and not, as the EU claims, protecting citizens from online disinformation.
As soon as last week the EU got a social media platform
Shortly afterwards, Europe’s far-right parties came out in support of the EU and in opposition to the EU.
“When Brussels’ overlords can’t win the debate, they reach for the fines,” Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister and leader of the nationalist Fidesz group, wrote on Twitter.
German AfD leader Alice Weidel posted, “The European Commission appreciates the censorship and chat control of its citizens.” “They want to silence critical voices by restricting free speech.”
What does Trump hope to achieve?
The national security document states that US comprehensive Europe policy should prioritize “creating resistance within European countries to Europe’s current trajectory”.
ECFR’s Vegh said the document shows that the current US administration is identifying political partners within countries rather than dealing with a country’s democratically elected government as a whole.
“This is a deviation from classic diplomatic relations, which tries to build good relations between countries and instead prioritizes party relations and party diplomacy,” he said.
Vegh said the document offered the sharpest attack yet against the EU with its strategy of “supporting aligned political actors and influencing European politics in a direction favorable to Trump’s administration.”
“To some extent this idea appears to challenge the liberal democratic principles that underpin and unify the European Union,” Vegh said. “The US administration is partnering with the European far right as they challenge the EU itself from within.”
Wolff argued that the US is weakening the EU for its own benefit and to the detriment of European security and economic well-being.
“European businesses thrive on deeply integrated global value chains, made possible by the deeply integrated EU and its single market,” Wolff said. “If you attack the EU and its basic foundation, which is the single market, you attack the interests of EU companies operating in many countries.”
“On the security side it is aligned with Russia. [Vladimir] Putin has already said that he is aligned with that strategy.” He added, “Of course Putin’s vision is to re-establish dominance over the Central European countries.”
Could Trump embolden the far right in Europe or will the alliance backfire?
It is not yet clear whether the Trump administration’s approach will translate into more concrete US support, for example funding, for the European far right.
“USAID previously provided grants to civil society organizations working to strengthen democracy around the world,” Wegh said. “USAID is now defunct, but the administration could establish new channels to provide support to organizations associated with its ideological allies in Europe. But no such cooperation has yet taken shape publicly.”
Wolff said a public display of stronger ties to Trump could backfire for the European far right.
“As it becomes clear to the public that such a relationship poses a serious threat to European security and prosperity, it could prompt a counter-reaction. [The] The far right can be seen as undermining Europe’s core interests,” he said.
Ian Lesser, a fellow at the German Marshall Fund and head of the US Brussels office, told DW that even though US national security strategy in general supports the far right, European groups “will have to think carefully about how close they want to be to an administration that is unpopular in Europe.”
Edited by: Carla Bleiker