(C) Politico

WASHINGTON D.C. — The US government, in its new National Security Strategy (NSS) released on December 5 (local time), delivered a scathing and unprecedented broadside against its long-standing ally, Europe. The document explicitly warns that the continent is staring down the "harsh prospect of civilizational erasure" and makes clear the Trump administration’s intent to actively support anti-immigration, far-right political parties across the region.

The NSS, which reflects the contentious views long espoused by President Donald Trump, has drawn immediate and furious pushback from European leaders, who view the strategy as an "unacceptable" direct challenge to the transatlantic alliance.

According to reports from The New York Times and The Financial Times, the NSS asserts that Europe, a key US ally for decades, is on the wrong path, having lost its core values. The document’s Europe section, titled 'Elevating European Greatness,' argues that the US must lead efforts to help Europe "correct its current trajectory."

The administration’s strategic paper dedicates significant space to criticizing European nations, claiming that their national identities are being undermined by open immigration policies and excessive regulation. This, the NSS contends, has reduced Europe's global presence to an "unrecognizable" or "insignificant" level.

"We want Europe to remain European," the NSS states, urging the continent to "regain civilizational pride and abolish the failed, stifling regulations."

Perhaps the most controversial part of the NSS is its strong rejection of the European Union (EU) and other supranational bodies. The strategy accuses these institutions of "trampling on major principles of democracy," including undermining national sovereignty, curtailing civil liberties, and censoring free speech in what it claims is an effort to suppress political rivals.

In stark contrast, the Trump administration champions the rise of right-wing groups, noting that "the growing influence of patriotic European parties is a cause for great optimism." The NSS explicitly calls for the US to "foment resistance" across Europe by supporting political forces that fight immigration and promote nationalism, indicating a major shift in US foreign policy toward intervening in European domestic politics on the side of populist movements. The New York Times suggests these "patriotic European parties" refer to hardline right-wing groups such as the Reform UK and the Alternative for Germany (AfD).

The NSS defines the future US goal as "helping Europe correct its current trajectory over the next few decades." This, The New York Times assesses, clearly signals that President Trump intends to use his America First diplomacy as a beacon for other nationalist politicians to reform their political systems.

European reaction was swift and indignant. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told reporters in Berlin that Germany "does not believe we need advice from any nation or party," expressing clear displeasure. While acknowledging the US as NATO’s most vital ally, Wadephul stressed that the US had no business interfering with matters such as organizing a free society in Germany, including issues of free expression.

Brando Benifei of Italy, who chairs the European Parliament's Delegation for Relations with the US, blasted the NSS as being full of "extreme and shocking phrases" that are "never acceptable." He went further, condemning the strategy as an "outright challenge to the European Union" and suggesting some elements amounted to blatant electoral interference.

Warnings also emerged from the US foreign policy establishment that the US, the long-time leader of the Western liberal order since the end of World War II, is now steering toward an illiberal trajectory. Tom Wright, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a former NSC official during the Biden administration, criticized the new NSS as a "blueprint for an illiberal international order." Speaking to The Financial Times, Wright pointed out that the Trump administration "has abandoned the core concepts" of great-power competition with China and Russia, instead choosing to "look at China almost entirely through an economic lens, remain silent on the Russian threat, and spend its energy attacking European allies."

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