“What we cannot accept is the threat to interfere in European politics,” EU Council President Antonio Costa stated on Monday at a discussion at the Jacques Delors Institute in Brussels.
Costa’s statement, which also emphasized European sovereignty, came in response to the new US national security strategy, which is largely seen as an affront to Europe.
The US government regularly publishes a roadmap for its future security policy. It can be seen as indicative of what to expect from the US in Europe in the future, and the latest version criticizes European institutions.
European Council President Antonio Costa highlighted the importance of European souvereignty in decision-making Image: Marco Longari/REUTERS
Democracy is supposedly in danger
In the foreword to the national security strategy, US President Donald Trump sets the tone: “This document is a roadmap to ensure that America remains the greatest and most successful nation in human history,” he wrote.
The US government clearly states that it primarily pursues national interests. Europe remains a strategic partner, but is broadly criticized.
Economic downturn, suppressed political freedom and flawed migration policy: from the US perspective, Europe is heading in the wrong direction. The accusations are numerous.
European institutions are said to restrict freedom of expression and suppress opposition, and national identities are being lost. “Should present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less,” the paper states, and furthermore: “The era of mass migration must end.”
For Donald Trump, migration to Europe is one of the biggest problems that must be solvedImage: Louisa Gouliamaki/REUTERS
‘Not a diplomatic but a transactional policy’
Judy Dempsey of the think tank Carnegie Europe sees the paper as a continuation of the MAGA (Make America Great Again) policy. “We know now where the Trump administration stands,” she told DW, adding that “this is good.”
In her view, it is “not a diplomatic policy, but a transactional policy. That means: Everything has a price. This is the core of MAGA.”
Dempsey said the strategy made it clear that “if you want to get good relations, the US is going to defend its economic and trade policies.”
Furthermore, the US government intends to take action itself in the future and assist in correcting Europe’s current path.
“Our goal should be to help Europe correct its current trajectory,” the paper reads.
The idea is to cultivate “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 by the German national radio broadcaster Deutschlandfunk, this could be a hint to increasing ties between Germany’s far-right AfD (Alternative for Deutschland) Party and leading US Republican politicians.
The specific implications of this can already be seen in Marco Rubio’s instructions: The US Secretary of State has briefed US diplomats in Europe to lobby national governments to restrict immigration as much as possible.
Different perspective in Brussels
In order to stabilize the European economy, it is in the US’s interest to resolve Russia’s war in Ukraine. However, the Trump administration finds itself “at odds with European politicians who have unrealistic expectations of the war,” according to the strategic paper.
This can be explained by the fact that both sides have fundamentally different perspectives, Ian Lesser, executive director of the Brussels office of the German Marshall Funds, says. “Whereas the [US] administration sees this as simply an unpleasant problem to be fixed and put aside, taken off the table to move on to other issues, in Europe clearly there’s an interest in seeing a ceasefire and a settlement,” he told DW’s Teri Schultz earlier in December.
“In Europe… it is understood as being emblematic of a much bigger problem, which is how do you live with Russia and a more aggressive Russia in the future,” he said.
European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and European Commission Vice-President Kaja Kallas chose a friendly tone in response to criticism by the US Image: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/REUTERS
Kaja Kallas: ‘Some of it is also true’
While many EU observers are concerned about the US signals, leading EU politicians remain committed to the transatlantic partnership. EU 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,” she said about the strategy paper at the 2025 Doha Forum last weekend.
“Europe has been underestimating its own power, especially towards Russia, and we should be more self-confident,” Kallas stated, highlighting that “the United States is still our biggest ally. And it’s in the interest of the US that we work together.”
Anitta Hipper, lead European spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs and Security at the European Commission, added in the European Commission Midday briefing on Monday that “when it comes to decisions relating to the European Union, they are taken by the European Union, for the European Union, including those relating to our regulatory autonomy and protection of free speech.”
Costa: ‘The US cannot decide’
EU Council President Antonio Costa further highlighted the importance of transatlantic ties, however he emphasized Europe’s sovereignty, too.
“The United States cannot decide on behalf of European citizens which parties are right and which are wrong,” he stated at the Jacques Delors Institute in Brussels, adding that “if we want to protect ourselves, not only from our adversaries but also from the allies we challenge, we need to strengthen Europe.”
Judy Dempsey of Carnegie Europe laments the lack of a unified strategy from the EU.
“There will be no European response because there is neither a strategic outlook nor any world view how it should project its ambition, if it had any,” she said.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is yet to comment on the new US security strategy.
This article was originally published in German.
