Ursula von der Leyen warns Trump not to interfere in European democracy
Ursula von der Leyen (Photo: Getty Images)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that US President Donald Trump should not interfere in European diplomacy, according to Politico.
Von der Leyen’s statement came just days after the US president sharply criticized Europe, and against the backdrop of the new US national security strategy.
“It is not on us, when it comes to elections, to decide who the leader of the country will be, but on the people of this country … That’s the sovereignty of the voters, and this must be protected… Nobody else is supposed to interfere, without any question,” the EC President said in response to a question about the US National Security Strategy.
As is known, the strategy states that over the next 20 years, Europe faces a civilizational collapse, a claim that has resonated with far-right leaders, including Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, as well as in Russia.
In addition, the document criticizes Europe’s attempts to limit the influence of far-right parties, calling such actions political censorship, and refers to the development of resistance to the current course of Europe in European countries.
According to von der Leyen, this is one of the reasons why the EU proposed the Democracy Shield, aimed at strengthening the fight against foreign interference in the online space, including elections.
The EC President also stated that she has always had very good working relations with US presidents, and that is still the case today. However, she emphasized that Europe should focus on itself, rather than comparing itself to others.
“From the bottom of my heart, I’m a convinced transatlanticist. But what is so important? [What’s] important is that … we take pride in being the European Union, that we look at our strength and that we deal with the challenges that we do have. Of course, our relationship to the United States has changed. Why? Because we are changing. And this is so important that we keep in mind: what is our position? What is our strength? Let’s work on these. Let’s take pride in that. Let’s stand up for a unified Europe. This is our task … [to] look at ourselves and be proud of ourselves,” Ursula von der Leyen concluded.
Politico notes that recently, Trump, in an interview with their publication, called Europe a group of countries led by weak people that is falling apart.
Tensions between the US and Europe
On December 5, the US presented a new national security strategy.
One of the key points of the document is ending the war in Ukraine. In addition, the US considers restoring strategic stability in relations with Russia one of its main priorities in the European direction.
In general, Washington wants to restore stability in Europe and believes that ending the war in Ukraine should form the basis for this. The US is also focused on achieving a ceasefire to stabilize the Eurasian region and reduce the risk of armed conflict between European countries and Russia.
Recently, Pope Leo XIV stated that, in his view, Donald Trump is attempting to undermine the US-Europe alliance.
Additionally, the European Commission recently fined Elon Musk’s social media platform X for violating the EU Digital Services Act, specifically for the misleading design of the blue verification checkmark. Trump also reacted to this story, claiming that Europe is moving in the wrong direction.
