The US government has sharply criticised Europe in its National Security Strategy. Published over the weekend, the paper says the EU is undermining political freedom, suppressing political opposition and facing the loss of national identities, raising questions about whether certain European countries can remain reliable allies for the US. Commentators discuss the takeaways for the continent.
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Welcome to the new reality
El Mundo sees Europe at an historic turning point:
“The Trump administration confirmed yesterday that Europe cannot continue to depend on the US for military and strategic support. … And it admits that the US will support ‘patriotic European parties’ – in other words, nationalist and identitarian groups – to help the old continent ‘correct its course’. The warning is unmistakable: the lights are going out and from now on it will be up to the EU to guarantee of its own security. … This has nothing to do with the inconsistencies that have characterised Trump’s behaviour on other occasions, but is part of a carefully crafted strategy to reconfigure the world order. … Washington’s change of course presents Europe with an historic challenge.”
We should all become like Hungary
The US is abandoning democratic values and wants Europe to follow suit, Público concludes:
“We already knew that the Trump administration had reversed American foreign policy and that one of the most significant changes was the abandonment of the very democratic values that shaped it. We already knew that Donald Trump does not respect Nato and that Europe is in danger of losing American protection at the very moment when it is facing a direct threat to its security. Now we know that the Atlantic Alliance, which has prevailed against all odds precisely because it was based on common principles and values shared by its democracies, will only survive if all European nations become like Hungary.”
Blatant meddling by Washington
Dennik Postoj comments:
“The Trump administration appears to be driven by a desire to proselytise, to impose its views on migration and other issues on other countries. Plenty of European policies do indeed deserve criticism. But the new US security strategy envisages a blatant encroachment on the sovereignty of European states on a level that no previous American administration has dared to attempt. Under normal circumstances, Europe would be justified in flatly rejecting such statements from Washington. But the Europeans currently don’t have a leg to stand on; they must try to appease their security guarantor, at least for now, until they can somehow replace the United States in Europe’s security policy.”
Europe will have to suck this up for now
The Tages-Anzeiger sums up the situation:
“In the short-term, the Europeans will just have to suck up the provocations issuing from the White House. … Resisting flatteries and golden gifts while at the same time promising to invest in our own security demands an element of self-denial, but one that is necessary, because we currently have 80,000 indispensable US troops stationed in Europe. At the same time the Europeans will have to stay true to their values and be very clear about rejecting Washington’s attempts to meddle in its affairs. The White House seems to see Europe’s future in the ‘patriotic’ (i.e. far-fight populist) parties, who are either anti-immigrant or anti-supranational structures like the EU. But the Europeans should neither tolerate attacks on their democracies nor turn their back on the EU – that would only make it easier for Washington and Moscow to divide Europe.”
Standing on its own two feet at last
Europe cannot continue to depend on the US for its security policy, the Sunday Times warns:
“The more we bow at Trump’s feet, the more he will wield American power to divide and humiliate us. In fact all western politicians should assume for practical purposes that Trump will not honour the Nato guarantee; it might finally cause us to become serious about defence, about standing on our own two feet. That is, of course, the great challenge for our country and continent. The alternative is to become victims of ever more merciless extortion, not just from Trump but Putin and Xi. And you might say: we will kind of deserve it.”
At least Russia is satisfied
For Svenska Dagbladet, the US’s announcement should come as no surprise as this course has been on the cards since the Security Conference in Munich:
“A lot has happened in international relations since February. Trump’s national security strategy will nevertheless come under close scrutiny, and one thing that certainly stands out is that Russia, the US’s old arch-enemy, is neither criticised nor is it described as a threat. Indeed Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov gave his nod of approval from Moscow on the weekend. The changes in Trump’s strategy are ‘broadly consistent with our vision’, Peskov said.”
Washington just wants stability
Political scientist Viktor Shlinchak draws conclusions for Ukraine on Facebook:
“The US just wants predictability on the European front. It’s not pushing for peace ‘on the aggressors’ terms’ but it also doesn’t want an endless back and forth. It wants a stable situation that does not exhaust resources. The other thing is that it now sees Ukraine within the context of its relations with China. … When it comes to future negotiations, guarantees or agreements the US will ask in each case: ‘Could this weaken the US’s position against China?’ And, finally, security guarantees are not just words any more. The goal is to curb Russia’s military capacity. So the emphasis is on deterrence, not on sending the world back to 1991.”