BRUSSELS (AP) 鈥� A top European Union official on Monday warned the United States against interfering in Europe鈥檚 affairs and said only European citizens can decide which parties should govern them.
European Council President Ant贸nio Costa鈥檚 remarks came in reaction to the Trump administration鈥檚 , which was published on Friday and paints European allies as weak, while offering tacit support to far-right political parties.
The document, which was praised by Russia, formalizes in writing months of Trump administration criticism of EU policy and perceived restrictions on free speech that started with to European allies in Germany in February by U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
It鈥檚 鈥済ood鈥� that the strategy depicts European countries as an ally, but 鈥渁llies don鈥檛 threaten to interfere in the domestic political choices of their allies,” Costa said.
鈥淲hat we can鈥檛 accept is the threat of interference in European political life. The United States cannot replace European citizens in choosing what the good or the bad parties are,鈥� he said in Paris at the Jacques Delors Institute, a think tank.
Lessons from history
Fabian Zuleeg, chief executive at the European Policy Centre think tank, said that stridently nationalist parties in Europe will be emboldened by the strategy document and “will intensify efforts to hollow out the EU from within.鈥�
鈥淧ro-European liberal forces need to finally wake up: Trump鈥檚 America is not an ally, but an adversary to Europe鈥檚 freedoms and fundamental values. His objective is to replace our democratic system with the illiberal populism now entrenched in the U.S.,” Zuleeg said.
The strategy was also and migration policy. U.S. allies in Europe face the 鈥減rospect of civilizational erasure,” the document said, raising doubts about their long-term reliability as American partners.
But Costa, who chairs summits of the EU’s 27 national leaders, said that Europe鈥檚 鈥渉istory has taught us that you can鈥檛 have freedom of speech without freedom of information.鈥�
The former Portuguese prime minister also warned 鈥渢here will never be free speech, if the freedom of information of citizens is sacrificed for the aims of the tech oligarchs in the United States.鈥�
Speaking to reporters in Berlin, German government spokesperson Sebastian Hille underlined that 鈥淓urope and the U.S. are historically, economically and culturally linked, and remain close partners.鈥�
鈥淏ut we reject the partly critical tones against the EU,鈥� he said. 鈥淧olitical freedoms, including the right to freedom of expression, belong to the fundamental values of the European Union. We view accusations regarding this more as ideology than strategy.鈥�
Russia welcomes new vision
The security strategy is the administration’s first since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office in January. It breaks starkly from the course set by , which sought to reinvigorate Washington’s alliances.
It comes as the U.S. seeks an end to Russia鈥檚 , a goal that the national security strategy says is in Washington’s vital interests.
But the text makes clear that the U.S. wants to improve its relationship with Russia after years of Moscow being treated as a global pariah, and ending the war is a core U.S. interest to 鈥渞eestablish strategic stability with Russia.鈥�
Kremlin spokesman has said the document 鈥渁bsolutely corresponds to our vision.鈥� Over the course of the war, Russia has worked to drive a wedge between NATO allies, particularly between the U.S. and Ukraine’s main backers in Europe.
鈥淚f we read closely the part about Ukraine, we can understand why Moscow shares this vision,鈥� Costa said. 鈥淭he objective in this strategy is not a fair and durable peace. It鈥檚 only (about) the end of hostilities, and the stability of relations with Russia.鈥�
鈥淓veryone wants stable relations with Russia,鈥� he added, but 鈥渨e can鈥檛 have stable relations with Russia when Russia remains a threat to our security.鈥�
Top EU officials and intelligence officers have warned that Russia could be in a position to launch an attack elsewhere in Europe in three to five years should it defeat Ukraine.
Hille noted that 鈥渢he strategy doesn鈥檛 classify Russia as a threat; we don鈥檛 share this assessment. We are sticking with NATO鈥檚 joint analysis.鈥� Trump and his NATO counterparts noted, in a in June, 鈥渢he long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security.鈥�
However, Hille insisted that 鈥渋n view of the great security policy challenges, trans-Atlantic cooperation is now and will be in the future of central significance for our common security.鈥�
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Geir Moulson contributed to this report from Berlin.
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