United States Vice President JD Vance has taken aim at European countries during his first international trip, accusing leaders of rollbacks on free speech, lax migration policies, and delinquency in their defence commitments, Al Jazeera reported.
In a speech at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Friday, Vance announced that the administration of President Donald Trump would mark a pivot in terms of the US relationship with its European allies, said Doha-based media.
“There is a new sheriff in town under Donald Trump’s leadership,” Vance told an audience of political leaders, military officers, and diplomats at the annual conference.
He proceeded to accuse European leaders of censoring social media, interfering in elections, and violating the rights of Christians.
“I believe that dismissing people, dismissing their concerns, or, worse yet, shutting down media, shutting down elections, or shutting people out of the political process protects nothing,” Vance said. “In fact, it is the most surefire way to destroy democracy.”
Vance’s remarks garnered a swift rebuke from some officials. Speaking shortly afterwards, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said he could not let Vance’s claims go unanswered, said Al Jazeera.
“If I understood him correctly, he is comparing conditions in parts of Europe with those in authoritarian regimes,” Pistorius said. “That is unacceptable, and it is not the Europe and not the democracy in which I live and am currently campaigning.”
German Chancellor expresses frustration
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has expressed his frustration after US Vice President JD Vance criticized European governments at the Munich Security Conference, Deutsche Welle (DW) reported.
"What was said is irritating and cannot simply be dismissed and played down," Scholz told German public radio station Deutschlandfunk, DW said.
Earlier on Friday, Vance warned the European establishment against ignoring the will of voters, calling for an end to political "firewalls."
Germany is holding federal elections on February 23, and Scholz is lagging in the polls, but the German chancellor is a strong advocate of the "firewall" agreed by parties not to cooperate with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, according to DW.
"We need a firewall," affirmed Scholz. Germany is a democracy that was created out of opposition to the Nazis and fascism, Scholz added.
Scholz also said he is concerned about the future of the NATO military alliance. He said European countries would have to do more for their own defense as NATO-critic Donald Trump begins his second term as US president. There were, however, still signs that cooperation with the United States would remain possible, Scholz said.
After a provocative speech by US Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference, CDU/CSU chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz aired his concerns about the direction of US foreign policy and said Washington is "openly interfering in an election" as the Germans prepare to go to the polls in less than 10 days.
In an interview with DW correspondent Michaela Kuefner, Merz said: "The American security guarantees are being called into question, the Americans are questioning democratic institutions, and they are interfering quite openly in an election, including in relation to democratic parties and their majorities."
In his speech, Vance said European governments were stamping down free speech, ignoring voters' concerns and were at risk of destroying democracy. That, Merz said, was disturbing, added DW.
"I have to say, it disturbs me," he continued. "It doesn't surprise me because they have talked about this before, but I firmly reject it. It is not the job of the American government to explain to us here in Germany how we should protect democratic institutions. And we will continue on our course."
During a private meeting in Munich, Merz said he and Vance discussed US tariffs, European defense capabilities and Russia's war in Ukraine, DW reported.