Name: Trump pounds EU in sharpest takedown as bloc mulls future of alliance
Uploaded: 2025-12-10T16:41:44.776Z
Duration: 2 min
Description: After a rough week in which the US criticised the EU on everything from migration to regulation, Europeans are contemplating the future of the transatlantic relationship, but remain divided on how to respond.

After a rough week in which the US criticised the EU on everything from migration to regulation, Europeans are contemplating the future of the transatlantic relationship, but remain divided on how to respond.

Brussels

The Trump administration has recently escalated its criticism of the European Union, addressing issues ranging from migration to regulatory policies. A U.S. national security strategy document warned the EU to change its approach on several matters or risk what it called 'civilizational erasure.'

In response, the European Commission has sought to de-escalate tensions, while some European officials and critics argue for increased independence from the United States, particularly in security matters. The debate over the future of the transatlantic alliance continues, with European leaders divided on the appropriate response.

Trump pounds EU in sharpest takedown as bloc mulls future of alliance

Within the past week, the Trump administration has criticized the EU more aggressively than ever, from belittling Europe's international standing to commenting on entirely sovereign matters like migration and regulation. First, a U.S. government national security strategy document warned the EU should change course on a range of issues or risk what it described as civilizational erasure. Meanwhile, Elon Musk suggested the EU should be abolished after his social media platform X was fined for breaching digital rules. The U.S. president himself doubled down on the EU during an interview with Politico, where he used especially harsh language to describe his country's European allies. They're not doing a good job, Europe is not doing a good job in many ways. They're not doing a good job. I want to ask you about that. They talk too much and they're not producing. We're talking about Ukraine. They talk, but they don't produce. And the war just keeps going on and on. But most European nations, they're decaying, they're decaying. The European Commission has opted to de-escalate tensions in order to stabilize the relationship with Washington. But critics say the answer may lie in taking greater responsibility and becoming more independent in critical areas. The question of what that means for our security-political cooperation is of course the most important question. It confirms my assessment that we in Europe and thus also in Germany have to become much more security-politically independent from the U.S. That's not a surprise, but it's been confirmed once again. Europeans are contemplating the future of the transatlantic relationship, but remain divided on how to respond. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has not yet addressed the U.S. national security document, nor the Musk fine.

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