"Hope for a Reasonable Settlement in the Ukraine War"
"Europeans Must Strengthen Their Self-Defense Capabilities"
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on the 14th (local time) in front of European leaders, "A new sheriff has come to town," demanding adaptation to President Donald Trump's political style.
In his keynote speech at the Munich Security Conference held in Munich, Germany, Vance likened President Trump to "the newly appointed sheriff in town" and said, "Under Donald Trump's leadership, we may have differing views from you, but we will fight to protect your right to express your thoughts in the public arena."
Vance went on to say, "What worries me most about Europe is not Russia, China, or any other external actor," pointing out, "What worries me is the threat from within (Europe)."
Regarding the 'internal threat' facing Europe, Vice President Vance defined it as "Europe retreating from some of its most fundamental values," and claimed, "Freedom of the press is retreating across Europe."
This statement can be interpreted in light of the fact that, since President Trump's inauguration, the United States has relaxed self-censorship such as fact-checking fake news on social media (SNS), while Europe maintains online regulations to filter out far-right ideologies and hate speech.
With the German federal election scheduled for the 23rd approaching, and after Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and a close associate of President Trump, stirred controversy by giving speeches supporting the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), Vice President Vance's remarks touched on sensitive issues.
Vance also referred to the incident the previous day in Munich, where an immigrant from Afghanistan drove a vehicle into a crowd, injuring about 30 people, and criticized Europe for needing to "change course" on immigration issues.
This was a call for European countries, including Germany, which have maintained a relatively lenient stance on immigration issues including refugee acceptance, to strengthen border controls like the Trump administration.
Regarding the end of the Ukraine war, which European countries have been most interested in recently in relation to the U.S. approach, Vice President Vance made only general remarks hoping for a "reasonable settlement" without offering new comments.
He expressed the view that "while the U.S. focuses on other parts of the world where there is danger, it is an important part of the alliance for Europeans to strengthen their capabilities (related to self-defense)," urging NATO's European allies to increase defense spending.
The New York Times (NYT) reported that the audience, who wanted to hear about NATO and the Ukraine war during Vice President Vance's speech, instead listened to a 'lecture' on democracy.
Europe immediately expressed displeasure. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius criticized in his speech at the Munich Security Conference, saying, "A moment ago, the U.S. Vice President made remarks doubting the democracy of all of Europe," and added, "If I understood correctly, he compared Europe's situation to that prevalent in some authoritarian regimes, which is unacceptable."
The British daily Financial Times (FT) reported that European officials gathered in Munich were shocked, calling Vice President Vance's remarks "unfair and untrue claims." An anonymous European diplomat said, "It's completely crazy" and "very dangerous."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
