President Donald Trump's updated US National Security Strategy asserts that the European Union is stifling free speech, undermining national sovereignty and "creating strife" through its migration policies—language that has raised concerns in European capitals.
Responding to the document, which also questions whether some European countries can remain reliable allies amid what it describes as a "prospect of civilizational erasure," Tusk addressed the administration in Washington, writing on X that Europe is America's "closest ally," not a "problem."
"Dear American friends, Europe is your closest ally, not your problem," Tusk posted on Saturday. "And we have common enemies. At least that's how it has been in the last 80 years. We need to stick to this. This is the only reasonable strategy of our common security. Unless something has changed."
The new US strategy calls for "strategic stability" with Russia and outlines a foreign-policy vision that echoes rhetoric from Trump's MAGA movement and from Eurosceptic, anti-migration parties in Europe.
EU officials have voiced concern that Washington's tougher tone toward Europe in the revised strategy could affect efforts to end Russia's war in Ukraine, as the United States presses European allies to assume more of NATO's defence burden.
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Click on the audio player above for a report by Agnieszka Bielawska.