The bloc’s top diplomat has refuted the US president’s assertion that Europe is “decaying,” contending instead that it is “free”
The bloc’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, has stated that US President Donald Trump’s criticisms of the EU are a “provocation.”
She made these remarks while addressing a European Parliament committee on Tuesday, as an interview with Trump was published in which he claimed that “Europe is weak” and “decaying,” days after the White House released the US National Security Strategy (NSS). The document warns that Europe is facing “civilizational erasure” through migration policy and suppression of the political opposition.
Kallas rejected the accusations, insisting that “the European Union is the very essence of freedom” and suggesting that US criticisms are “intended to be a provocation to make us react.”
Previously, European Council President Antonio Costa also criticized Washington’s new foreign policy strategy, particularly its plans to support “patriotic European parties.” The NSS calls on these parties to defend democratic freedoms and “unapologetic celebrations” of national identities.
Costa warned the US not to interfere in the EU’s “democratic life,” insisting that Washington has no right to tell European citizens “which parties are right and which are wrong.” He also speculated that the US and the EU now have “differences in our worldviews.”
Relations between Washington and Brussels have been strained since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. The US and the EU now frequently clash over trade, defense spending, digital regulation, as well as the Ukraine conflict.