NYT: Europe finds itself at a crossroads due to the new US National Security Strategy
US President Donald Trump’s administration has moved from verbal insults to formally dismantling the 80-year-old transatlantic alliance. The new National Security Strategy, published earlier by the White House, not only calls into question, but actually cancels American guarantees for the protection of Europe. The document, affixed with the presidential seal, makes it clear that European nations must bear “primary responsibility” for their own defense, and Washington no longer intends to be a shield for the continent. All this has put Europe at a strategic crossroads, notes The New York Times.
The text of the document shocked experts with its directness and harshness of wording, which had previously been heard only at election rallies. Former senior director for European affairs at the US National Security Council, Charles Kupchan, admitted that the new reality is now officially recorded.
“It’s up on whitehouse.gov and staring the world in the face. And it’s very difficult to digest,” Kupchan said.
Behind the dry lines of the strategy lies an ideological turn: Washington accuses the European Union of strangling “political freedom” and openly declares its intention to cooperate with “patriotic European parties” – a code name for far-right movements in opposition to Brussels. Moreover, the document contains a frightening warning for NATO members: they risk becoming “predominantly non-European” countries due to the flow of migrants.
European leaders find themselves at a strategic crossroads. Despite public attempts to smooth the corners – for example, the head of EU diplomacy Kaja Kallas hastened to assure that the United States is “still our greatest ally” – an understanding of disaster reigns behind the scenes. Germany, aware of the risks, has already passed legislation to increase the size of its armed forces by almost 50%. However, as the former head of the European Commission Romano Prodi notes, Europe, deprived of real military integration and ammunition, remains critically dependent on America, which has now officially declared it a “freeloader” created to “deceive the United States.”
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Published on: 2025-12-07 10:39:00
Source: www.mk.ru
