DOHA/BRUSSELS — The relationship between the United States and Europe is facing a significant strain following the release of the new US National Security Strategy (NSS), a document that launches a sharp and unprecedented ideological attack on European institutions and values.
Despite the highly critical tone, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas sought to reassure allies, stating on Saturday that the US is “still our biggest ally.” Speaking at the Doha Forum in Qatar, Ms. Kallas acknowledged some truth in the US criticism but insisted the fundamental transatlantic principle remains: “We are the biggest allies, and we should stick together.”
The US Strategy: ‘Civilizational Erasure’
The NSS, published by the Trump administration, codifies months of political offensive against Europe. The document lambasts the continent as over-regulated, lacking “self-confidence,” and warns it faces “civilizational erasure” due to immigration and failing birth rates. It explicitly targets European institutions for allegedly “undermining political liberty and sovereignty,” and criticizes the “censorship of free speech.”
The NSS outlines a radical policy shift, stating that if current trends persist, Europe will be “unrecognizable in 20 years or less.” It also suggests that a majority of Europeans desire peace but are undermined by their governments’ “subversion of democratic processes.” This stance aligns with the administration’s support for nationalist and far-right parties in Europe, seeking to “cultivate resistance to Europe’s current trajectory.”
European Reaction
The document sparked immediate and strong backlash across Europe:
- Germany: Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul stated the country does not need “outside advice” on the organization of its free society.
- France: Valerie Hayer, head of the centrist Renew Europe group, denounced the document as “unacceptable and dangerous.”
- Experts: Evan Feigenbaum, a former US advisor, called the Europe section the “most striking” part of the strategy for its confrontational nature.
The strategy confirms fears that the Trump administration aims to see an “entirely different Europe,” as noted by Kristine Berzina of the German Marshall Fund, viewing the criticism as “significant political attacks” against core allies.
