U.S. Vice President JD Vance stated today that the greatest threat facing Europe today is not external, but rather the withdrawal from some of its core values that it shares with the United States. He made these comments during his speech at the Munich Security Conference. Vice President Vance also urged European leaders to significantly increase their defense spending, while the U.S., he said, focuses on regions of the world that are at greater risk.
According to Vice President Vance, the biggest threat to Europe today is not Russia, not China, and not any other external actor. Instead, the threat he is most concerned about is from within: Europe’s potential retreat from its fundamental values shared with the United States.
“The threat I am most concerned about to Europe is not Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any external actor, it is the threat from within: the withdrawal of Europe from some of its core values, the shared values it holds with the United States,” he said.
Vice President Vance accused the previous administration of trying to silence people from expressing their thoughts. He added that the White House under President Trump would do the opposite by allowing disagreements and disagreements to become public. Vance reiterated Washington’s call for Europe to do more to ensure its own defense.
“This is a security conference, and I’m sure you all came here prepared to talk about how you specifically plan to increase defense spending over the next years in line with a new goal. And that’s great because, as President Trump has made very clear, he believes our European friends need to play a bigger role in the future of this continent. You’ve heard the term ‘burden-sharing’. We think it’s a crucial part of being in a common alliance, that Europeans should increase security while America focuses on areas of the world that are at great risk,” he emphasized.
NATO Secretary General Rutte stated that Vice President Vance is “absolutely right” when he speaks about the need for Europe to do more for its defense. These comments were made during a bilateral meeting between Vance and Rutte.
“It’s something that needs to be done. We need to spend a lot more. But we also need to discuss the pace of production in the defense industry. Of course, this is a problem we face both in the United States and the rest of NATO. We’re simply not producing enough. We’re not keeping pace with the Russians or the Chinese,” Rutte said.
Ukraine and the prospects for peace talks were the primary focus of the high-level meeting.
Vice President Vance said that Washington would use economic and military leverage in talks with Russia to secure a good peace deal on Ukraine. Vance made these comments, ahead of his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later in the day, during an interview with the Wall Street Journal. However, his spokesperson, William Martin, later clarified that Vance’s comments were not a threat to Moscow. Martin explained that the Vice President merely made it clear that President Trump would not be removing any options from the table as negotiations for peace between Kyiv and Moscow begin.
