European Union leaders have issued a coordinated rebuttal to US president Donald Trump after he described Europe as a “decaying” collection of “weak” nations and questioned the bloc’s handling of migration and the war in Ukraine in an interview with Politico and in a new US national security strategy.
In an interview with Politico published on Tuesday, Mr Trump portrayed Europe as a community of nations in disintegration, accusing its leaders of lacking the will to tackle what he called a civilisational crisis driven by migration and alleged democratic backsliding. He also suggested Europe had failed to bring Russia’s war against Ukraine to an end and hinted that Kyiv should consider territorial concessions to Moscow.
Speaking in Dublin on 9 December alongside Irish prime minister Micheál Martin, European Council president António Costa said that while the United States remained “an ally”, allies should not interfere in each other’s domestic politics or attempt to shape electoral outcomes in partner countries.
“We respect the choice of Americans, and they need to respect the democratic choices of our citizens,” Mr Costa said. “When all the leaders elect me president of the European Council, President Trump must respect this, just as we respect that American citizens elected him president of the United States.” He added that this was how allies should behave towards one another.
At the European Commission’s regular press briefing in Brussels, chief spokesperson Paula Pinho declined to engage directly with Mr Trump’s characterisation of Europe, but rejected the broader portrayal of the EU found in the US security document. She said the Commission was “very pleased and grateful” to have what she called “excellent leaders” steering the union through challenges from trade disputes to the war on its eastern flank, and dismissed claims that EU policies undermine freedom or sovereignty as unfounded.
The sharpest response came from former EU high representative for foreign affairs Josep Borrell. In a series of posts on X, the former chief diplomat argued that the new US National Security Strategy amounted to “a declaration of political war on the EU”, noting that vice-president JD Vance had already “made his contempt for Europe clear in Munich” earlier this year and that Mr Trump had now elevated this stance to official doctrine.
1. Vance already made his contempt for Europe clear in Munich; Trump has now elevated it to the level of a National Security Strategy. It is a declaration of political war on the EU. He wants a white Europe divided into nations, subordinate to his demands and voting preferences.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) December 9, 2025
“European leaders must stop pretending that Trump is not our adversary, hiding behind a fearful and complacent silence, and instead assert the EU’s sovereignty — technological, in security and defence, and political,” Mr Borrell wrote. In further remarks reported by European media he argued that Washington’s strategy appeared to seek “a white Europe, divided into separate states, subordinate to [US] demands and voting preferences”.
The controversy centres on a 30-page National Security Strategy released by the Trump administration last week. The document warns that Europe risks “civilisational erasure” within two decades if current policies on migration, integration and EU-level governance continue, and calls for the United States to “cultivate resistance” inside the EU in support of what it terms “patriotic” forces. Russia is not described as a primary threat, in contrast to earlier US strategies.
European officials view the text, together with Mr Trump’s interview, as signalling a deliberate downgrading of the transatlantic partnership and an attempt to influence European politics in favour of nationalist parties opposed to the EU. German chancellor Friedrich Merz said parts of the US rhetoric were “unacceptable” and argued that Europe must be prepared to defend its own democracy and security with less reliance on Washington.
The new US line has been welcomed in Moscow, where officials have highlighted the document’s call for a rapid end to the war in Ukraine and for re-engagement with Russia. EU leaders fear that, taken together with Mr Trump’s suggestion that Ukraine should consider ceding territory, this may be read in the Kremlin as a signal that Western unity on Ukraine can be broken.
Mr Trump’s public criticism has focussed heavily on Europe’s response to Russia’s full-scale invasion, its migration policies and what he describes as constraints on free speech. EU officials counter that the bloc has provided significant financial and military support to Kyiv, tightened sanctions on Russia and strengthened its external border controls, while maintaining its existing human rights and free-speech frameworks.
For now, EU leaders continue to describe the United States as a strategic partner, but the tone of recent statements suggests a recalibration is under way. Mr Costa and Mr Merz are among those arguing that Europe must accelerate efforts to build up its own defence capabilities and strategic autonomy, even as it seeks to preserve NATO and the broader transatlantic relationship. How far that balance can be maintained under a US doctrine that increasingly treats the EU as a rival rather than a partner remains an open question in European capitals.
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