Europe is becoming aware of the reality of its divorce from the United States. The President of the European Council, António Costa, criticized on Monday the new national security strategy of the administration of Donald Trump, which set itself the objective last Friday of supporting ultra, Eurosceptic and reactionary political groups, which he describes as “patriotic forces”. “We cannot accept this threat of interference in the political life of Europe. The United States cannot replace European citizens in choosing good and bad parties,” Costa said in a speech at a conference at the Jacques Delors Institute in Paris. Costa was referring to the document in which the US government proposed to “cultivate resistance” to “help Europe correct its current trajectory”.
“Allies do not interfere in the political life or political decisions of their allies, they respect their sovereignty,” concluded the President of the European Council, the first of the European leaders to speak out – and very clearly – on Washington’s attacks against the European Union. The chosen location doesn’t seem like a coincidence either. Jacques Delors, President of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995, played a key role in the creation of the internal market, the euro, and was a strong advocate of post-war European integration and the architect of the European Union as we know it today.
The words of Costa – a former Portuguese prime minister and now president of the European Council, the body that defines the EU’s political priorities and strategic direction by bringing together the heads of state and government of member states – come after an intense weekend, during which political figures such as the foreign ministers of France, Jean-Noël Barrot, and of Poland, Radoslaw Sikorski, MEPs and former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta defended the EU against attacks from Washington.
Little by little, European leaders who had not done so are beginning to understand that, although in theory the United States continues to view the EU as an ally, its rhetoric and actions send a different message. “It is now clear. Vice President JD Vance’s speeches in Munich and President Trump’s many tweets have officially become American doctrine. And so we must act accordingly,” said Costa, who called for a stronger commitment to building a Europe that understands that relations between allies and alliances forged after World War II have changed.
The President of the European Council called for promoting the single market and addressing all the concerns of European citizens, such as the lack of affordable housing. Nor should we remain withdrawn and take advantage of the commercial capacity given to it by its composition of 27 countries and a potential of 450 million citizens who can help the Union to forge new alliances and turn to other areas, as it does by signing new trade agreements with countries like Indonesia or Mexico. If everything goes as planned, it will be the same with the Mercosur countries before the end of the year. This pact would create the largest free trade zone in the world.
In addition, Costa resolved that he must assume the need to accelerate the pace to take care of his own security, which he has now outsourced to the United States. This dependence on Washington must be reduced. “What is happening also has consequences for our security and for the proper functioning of our armed forces,” the president said, emphasizing that if Russia shares the doctrines of the American security strategy towards Europe, as the Kremlin has acknowledged, this should already give an idea.
“We already know that Europe and the United States do not share the same vision of the international order. In Europe we continue to be defenders of multilateralism, we believe in a rules-based international order, we believe in science, we believe in scientific freedom and we do not ignore global challenges like climate change. The United States no longer believes in multilateralism, it does not even believe in a rules-based international order and believes that climate change is a hoax,” Costa said. “We have different visions of the world. This strategy continues to consider Europe as an ally, but if we are allies, we must act as allies,” said Costa, who called for respect for European political life.
Trump’s new national security strategy, which ensures that Europe, due to its diversity and immigration policies, “faces the disappearance of its civilization”, was accompanied by an intense anti-EU campaign from the techno-oligarchs in the entourage of the President of the United States, such as Elon Musk, who directly called for its abolition after the European Commission fined him 120 million euros for lack of transparency with advertising on the social network X (formerly Twitter). On Sunday, the owner of
Musk’s messages, also welcomed by EU rivals like Russia, follow a serious attempt at blackmail by the US administration, which has demanded that the EU relax its rules on technology and data protection in exchange for a review of its tariff policy. “The United States cannot replace Europe in its vision of freedom of expression,” Costa said. “Our history has taught us that there is no freedom of expression without freedom of information. And freedom of information requires the greatest respect for pluralism. And, therefore, there will be no freedom of information if someone has a monopoly on software. There will be no freedom of expression if citizens’ freedom of information is sacrificed to defend the US tech oligarchs,” concluded the President of the European Council.
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