European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has sought to soften the impact of the Trump administration’s blistering new National Security Strategy, even suggesting that some of Washington’s criticisms of Europe are accurate.
Speaking on a panel at the Doha Forum, a major international gathering of diplomats, NGOs and global leaders, Kallas said Europe often underestimates its influence.
“Europe has been underestimating its own power toward Russia,” Kallas noted. “We should be more self-confident, that’s for sure.”
The Trump administration’s 33-page strategy, released Thursday, harshly criticized several European governments, claiming that the continent faces “civilizational erasure” partly due to its acceptance of migrants. The document further accused certain European countries of censoring political parties, mainly far-right ones, and suggested that Europe was hindering efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
While the strategy reaffirms that European countries remain important U.S. allies, it also signals Washington’s intent to bolster far-right movements in Europe. The document notably offered little criticism of Russia, despite its war against Ukraine and hostile actions toward other European states.
The strategy also highlighted what it called Europe’s “lack of self-confidence” in dealing with Russia, noting that:
“European allies enjoy a significant hard power advantage over Russia by almost every measure, except nuclear weapons.”
During the panel, moderator Christiane Amanpour of CNN asked whether President Donald Trump now viewed Europe as “the enemy.”
Kallas rejected that interpretation:
“I didn’t read it like this,” she said, emphasizing the strategy’s acknowledgment of the value of the transatlantic partnership. “The U.S. is still our biggest ally… We should stick together.”
