US Vice President JD Vance’s address at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) on Friday triggered strong criticism from European officials, highlighting escalating tensions between Washington and its European allies.
While the MSC has historically served as a crucial forum for US-European dialogue on global security, this year’s event exposed widening divides on critical issues, underscoring the growing uncertainty in US-European relations following Donald Trump’s return to the presidency.
During his speech, Vance asserted that Europe’s primary challenge was not external threats but internal democratic erosion. He accused Europe of straying from “core values” shared with the United States, raising concerns about electoral policies, civil rights, and freedom of speech across the continent.
Although President Trump praised Vance’s remarks as “good and brilliant,” many European officials quickly condemned them as an unwarranted attack from a long-standing ally.
Response From Significant Figures
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday rebuked Vance for “interfering in German politics” and vehemently rejected external influence on the country’s democracy. Scholz emphasized that Germany would not tolerate outsiders meddling in “our democracy, our elections, and the democratic formation of opinion.”
Prior to Vance’s “hurting” speech, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had criticized the Trump administration and major tech companies, stating that the new US administration’s worldview disregarded established rules, partnerships, and long-standing trust. He warned the MSC that allowing such a worldview to dominate would be detrimental to the international community.
Read Also: African Leaders To Renew Push For Slavery Reparations
The chorus of condemnation extended to other European officials. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius deemed Vance’s remarks “unacceptable,” while Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen described the US attitude toward its allies as “confrontational and challenging.”
Italian Foreign Affairs Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in Munich, stated that Vance’s remarks were fueling an unnecessary controversy that served no one’s interests.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, responding to Vance’s comments on Europe’s electoral and immigration policies, insisted on Saturday that Europe would not accept external impositions.
“No one is required to adopt our model, but no one can impose theirs on us,” he posted on social media. “When one is self-confident, one doesn’t feel threatened by criticism.”
Further Deterioration of Transatlantic Relations
Against the backdrop of recent US tariffs on steel and aluminum and the Trump administration’s controversial stances on Gaza and Ukraine, Vance’s speech was perceived as a further deterioration of transatlantic relations. Publications such as Politico Europe and the BBC described the speech as an “attack” and a “blast,” while The Guardian stated that it “laid bare the collapse of the transatlantic alliance.” Many experts observed that Vance’s speech highlighted the deepening rifts between the US and Europe, not only on security issues but also on social and cultural ones.
Tomas Janeliunas, a professor at the Institute of International Relations and Political Science at Vilnius University, described the reaction in Munich as one of shock.
Croatian security expert Vlatko Cvrtila argued that Vance had misunderstood European democracy. “He has no knowledge of European history at all — what happened in Germany and why Germany has protective mechanisms, as does the rest of Europe.”
Pero Kovacevic, former state secretary at the Croatian Ministry of Defence, said Vance’s speech showed US frustration with Europe’s perceived inability to address key challenges.
While JD Vance’s remarks were largely met with disapproval from mainstream European leaders at the Munich Security Conference, they resonated with right-wing politicians. Some German media outlets interpreted Vance’s address – delivered just a week before German elections – as an implicit endorsement of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. AfD leader Alice Weidel lauded Vance’s speech as “excellent,” and France’s far-right leader Jordan Bardella described Vance’s observations on freedom of expression and migration as “quite lucid.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban Supports Speech
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban aligned himself with Vance’s stance on immigration. In a social media post, he stated, “We have been saying since 2015 that mass illegal migration is a recipe for disaster … We are not happy that time has proved us right, but we are happy that Hungary has stayed out of this madness.”
Conversely, Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon characterized Vance’s remarks as a “wake-up call” for Europe. “US Vice President Vance’s cold shower to Europeans at the expense of freedom of speech and democracy in Europe is still echoing strongly in Munich,” she posted on social media.
Zeljka Cvijanovic, the chairperson of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), praised Vance’s speech as “clear, realistic, and inspiring,” and concurred with his assertion that Europe suppresses freedom of speech and disregards elections that do not align with mainstream policies.
Source: The EastAfrican
Unity and peace is very important in life
big family