The foreign affairs chief has rejected the US president’s critique of the bloc’s cultural and political trajectory, insisting “Europe is free”
The criticisms of the European Union laid out in the new US National Security Strategy (NSS) are “not true,” EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas has insisted. Addressing a European Parliament committee on Tuesday, she suggested that US President Donald Trump’s statements about the bloc were meant to evoke a reaction and sow division.
The 33-page NSS document, released by the White House on Friday, warns that Europe is facing “civilizational erasure” due to its current political and cultural direction. It accuses the EU of lacking “self-confidence” and criticizes its institutions for their excessive regulation, fostering of instability through migration policy, and suppression of the political opposition.
Kallas has rejected the accusations, insisting “the European Union is the very essence of freedom” and suggesting that American criticisms are “made to be a provocation so that we would react.”
“We need to be more self-confident,” Kallas said, claiming that all the allegations made in the NSS “are not true” and that the problems highlighted by Washington are “no worse in Europe than in America.”
At the same time, Kallas reiterated that the US remains the EU’s “biggest ally.”
Previously, European Council President Antonio Costa also hit out against Washington’s new foreign policy strategy, particularly its plans to support “patriotic European parties.” The NSS calls on these to stand up for democratic freedoms and “unapologetic celebrations” of national identities.
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Costa warned the US not to interfere in the EU’s “democratic life,” insisting Washington has no right to tell European citizens “which are the right parties and the wrong parties.” He also surmised 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 regularly clash over trade, defense spending, digital regulation, as well as the Ukraine conflict.
December 09, 2025 at 08:17PM
RT