The 33-page document argued that European countries face “civilizational erasure” in part due to their acceptance of migrants. It accused some European governments of unfairly censoring certain political parties — far right ones, for the most part. It also suggested Europeans were an obstacle in efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
The administration makes clear it still considers European countries important allies, but it also indicated it will try to boost far-right parties on the continent. The strategy document also had very little to say about Russia, which launched the Ukraine war and has made threatening moves against other European governments.
As Kallas mentioned, the document spoke of a European “lack of self-confidence” in its dealings with Russia.
“European allies enjoy a significant hard power advantage over Russia by almost every measure, save nuclear weapons. As a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine, European relations with Russia are now deeply attenuated, and many Europeans regard Russia as an existential threat,” the strategy document states.
The panel’s moderator, CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour, asked if President Donald Trump and his aides now saw Europe as “the enemy.”
“I didn’t read it like this,” Kallas insisted, stressing instead the elements of the Trump document that acknowledged the importance of the transatlantic relationship.
“The U.S. is still our biggest ally,” Kallas said. “We haven’t always seen eye-to-eye on different topics. But the overall principle is still there: We are the biggest allies, and we should stick together.”
