German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has pushed back against elements of a new US national security strategy put forward by the White House.
Wadephul said Berlin did not need external lectures on freedom of expression or the organization of democratic societies.
Key points
New US strategy carries unusually critical tone of Europe
US strategy questions the European rule of law and transnational bodies
EU rejects the strategy’s accusations against the bloc
Berlin also criticises the strategy
What do we know about the new US strategy?
The US document outlines US President Donald Trump’s “America First” worldview.
It signals a shift away from Washington’s traditional global role toward increased focus on Latin America and migration and includes sharp criticism of long-standing allies in Europe.
The paper said the US would support actors and political parties that oppose EU-led policy positions, including on immigration.
What did Germany’s top diplomat say about the US strategy?
Speaking in Berlin alongside Icelandic Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir, Wadephul said such matters are governed by Germany’s constitutional order, citing the separation of powers and press freedom.
Wadephul said the United States was and would remain “our most important ally in the [NATO] alliance. This alliance, however, is focused on addressing security policy issues.”
The minister said questions of freedom of expression or the organisation of free societies were not part of the alliance’s remit when it came to Germany.
“We see ourselves as being able to discuss and debate these matters entirely on our own in the future, and do not need outside advice,” Wadephul said.
However, he did say he would now “analyze the new US security strategy in detail.”
Relations between Washington and Europe have become more strained since Trump’s return to the White House, with disputes over migration and free-speech debates adding to tensions.
The US administration has also cultivated ties with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), including a visit by a senior AfD lawmaker to the White House in September.
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Jürgen Hardt, the foreign policy spokesman of Germany’s ruling conservative CDU/CSU alliance was also critical of the US strategy.
“The assessment of the US president on Europe, it’s very much single colored, maybe due to information he got from the wrong sides like right [wing] radical parties in Europe, or sometimes it sounds like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin talking about Europe,” Hardt told DW.
Hardt expressed concerns about the US strategy suggesting Trump “wants to engage actively in politics in European Union member states.”
“We did not [engage] in the US, and we expect that the US is not doing so in German democracies,” he said.
The conservative politician also criticized the strategy for encouraging the rise of nationalist parties in Europe.
“We don’t need trojanic horses of Russia or China in German or European politics as it is from the AfD or for Rassemblement National in France or also from the right radical parties in the UK,” Hardt said.
How does this differ from earlier US strategies for Europe?
The new strategy took a significantly more critical tone toward Europe than previous approaches, casting doubt on the sustainability of the US-European alliance.
While the 2022 US national security strategy under former Democratic President Joe Biden called Europe “an indispensable partner,” the new plan says that “it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries strong enough to remain reliable allies.”
The strategy criticizes what it calls “economic decline” and “civilizational erasure,” arguing that the European Union and other transnational bodies “undermine political liberty and sovereignty.”
Other criticisms of European policies in the document include:
“Migration policies that are transforming the continent and creating strife”
“Censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition”
“Cratering birthrates”
“Loss of national identities and self-confidence”
“Should present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less,” the US strategy claims.
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David Dunn, a professor of international politics at the University of Birmingham, noted a tone of what he called “ethno-nationalism” in the new strategy.
“There’s an underlying hint of racism in the document, as well as the attacks on the idea of liberal values being a betrayal of what they regard as that tradition,” Dunn told DW, arguing that the US strategy “reserve[s] special criticism for Europe.”
The document specifically mentions Europe’s deteriorating relationship with Russia since the latter’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
It argues that the war has increased Europe’s “external dependencies,” especially calling out Germany for “building some of the world’s largest processing plants in China, [and] using Russian gas that they cannot obtain at home.”
The US strategy also takes jabs at the rule of law in Europe, suggesting that European governments exercise “subversion of democratic processes.”
However, it acknowledges that “Europe remains strategically and culturally vital” to Washington.
“Our goal should be to help Europe correct its current trajectory,” the strategy argues. “We will need a strong Europe to help us successfully compete, and to work in concert with us to prevent any adversary from dominating Europe.”
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How has the EU reacted to the strategy?
The European Commission strongly rejected the accusations against the EU that the US strategy made.
Commission chief spokeswoman Paula Pinho rejected allusions that the EU undermines political freedom and sovereignty, damages the continent with its migration policy and hinders freedom of expression, the German DPA news agency cited her as saying.
Pinho, however, did not wish to comment further at this stage.
“We did not yet have the time to look into it, assess it, so therefore we’re not yet in a position to comment on any of it,” DPA quoted the spokeswoman as saying.
Edited by: Sean Sinico
