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The United States Vice President JD Vance has target In European countries, during their first international journey, accusing leaders of returning to freedom of expression, policies for migration of weak and crime in their defense commitments.
In a speech at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Friday, Vance announced that President Donald Trump's administration would mark a rotation regarding US relations with its European allies.
“There is a new sheriff in the city under the leadership of Donald Trump,” Vance told an audience from political leaders, military officers and diplomats at the annual conference.
He continued to blame European leaders in censorship of social media, election intervention, and violating Christians' rights.
“I believe that rejection of people, rejecting their concerns, or, even worse, the exclusion of the media, the exclusion of elections or the exclusion of people from the political process does not protect anything,” Vance said. “In fact, this is the most secure way to destroy democracy.”
Vance's remarks have collected a quick reproach from some employees. Smoking shortly thereafter, German Defense Minister Boris Pistory said he could not let Vance's allegations remain unanswered.
“If I understood it correctly, it compares the conditions in parts of Europe with those in the authoritarian regimes,” Pistorius said. “This is unacceptable and this is not Europe, not the democracy I live in and I am currently campaigning.”
What did Vance say?
Many countries have received Jabs and Swipes in the first major international speech of Vance.
The US Vice President, for example, separated Romania to cancel his election in December for the alleged Russian intervention and condemned Sweden for conviction of an activist for a crime of hatred of organizing public burns on the Qur'an.
He also accused the United Kingdom of the back of religious rights for his arrest as an activist, who refused to leave a protected area outside the abortion clinic.
When it comes to the country of the conference hosts, Germany, Vance criticized consensus among major political parties not to work with the final, anti -immigration group alternative to Germany (AFD). This political insulation policy is called a “firewall”.
“Democracy is based on the holy principle that people's voice matters. There is no room for firewalls, “Vance said.
He added that such policies prevented dialogue and have widely accused European leaders of working to mute the votes of those they disagree with.
“Now, for many of us on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, it is increasingly like old fortified interests hiding behind the ugly words of the Soviet era as” misinformation “and” misinformation “who simply dislike the idea that someone with an alternative perspective A point can express a different opinion, “Vance said.
In his response, the Pistorian, the German Defense Minister, noted that AFD had managed to campaign and distribute his messages, like any other political party in Germany.
“Democracy does not mean that a strong minority is automatically correct,” said Pistorie, who is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. He called AFD a “partial extremist”.
“Democracy must be able to defend against extremists who want to destroy it.”
However, Vance himself was seen to embrace anti -migrant rhetoric in his speech at the Munich Conference.
“Of all the urgent challenges facing the nations here, I believe there is nothing more successful than mass migration,” Vance said.
As an example, he pointed to Thursday Cars in Munich, who wounds 36 people. The suspect is a 24-year-old Afghan man.
“How many times do we have to endure these horrific failures before we change the course and take our shared civilization in a new direction?” Vance asked.
“No voter on this continent went to the urn to open the floods for millions of immigrants.”
Wider reset
The opening trip of the US Vice President in Europe comes less than four weeks after Trump began his second term on January 20, promising reset in relations with European allies of the United States.
Former President Joe Biden tried to restore these relationships after the end of Trump's first term from 2017 to 2021. The talks in recent years have largely focused on shared security threats from Russia and China.
But the rapid changes in the early weeks of Trump's second term left European leaders to fall apart.
Earlier this week Trump has announced sweeping 25 % rates Regarding the import of steel and aluminum, planned to take effect on March 12. On Thursday, he also ordered his advisers to calculate reciprocal tariffs for any country that is considered to have uneven trade relations with the United States.
And the changes have expanded beyond economic ties in the United States. Trump is also striving to negotiate to end the war of Russia in Ukraine, a major security issue for the rest of Europe.
On Wednesday, Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin, subjected to fears The fact that European countries and Ukraine can be eliminated in discussions to end the invasion of Russia.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Heget also before allies In Brussels, Belgium, Ukraine must accept that it will eventually not become a NATO member, nor is it likely to win a territory lost by Russia since 2014.
Critics said statements were major discounts to Moscow before all official peace talks.
Vance's visit to Munich on Friday also includes a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski.
“Our first meeting is not the last, I'm sure,” Zelenski said afterwards, promising to “continue our meetings and our work.”
In a separate meeting with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, NATO Secretary General Mark Rute and British Foreign Secretary David Lamie, Vance also renewed the calls for European countries to increase their defense costs.
The Trump administration has called on NATO members to spend 5 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) for defense.
Currently, many countries are struggling to fulfill the current commitment of 2 percent. The United States is currently exposing about 3.4 percent of its GDP for defense costs.
Vance said he wanted NATO to “a little more weight sharing in Europe” so that the United States can put their focus elsewhere, especially Asia.
