EU Council president rejects political influence in US security plan

Costa said that while it is normal that the US does not share the same vision on many issues, threats to interference in internal political life is unacceptable.

"The United States remains an important ally, the United States remains an important economic partner, but Europe must be sovereign.," he told a conference in Brussels on Monday.

"What we cannot accept is the threat to interfere in European politics."

US National security strategy

He was reacting to the new US National security strategyreleased last weekthat presents Europe as lacking in "self-confidence" and facing "civilizational erasure" due to immigration.

It said the administration of US President Donald Trump would be "cultivating resistance to Europe's current trajectory within European nations and sees growing influence of patriotic European parties as cause for great optimism.

"The United States cannot replace European citizens in choosing which parties are good and which are bad," said Costa, who as council president chairs summits of the bloc's 27 national leaders.

He said that there were long-standing differences with the Trump administration, but the new strategy "goes beyond that".

France's Macron to meet Ukraine, UK and German leaders to discuss US peace plan

Freedom of speech

Costastressed the vision of freedom of speech is different in the EU and in the US.

"The United States cannot replace Europe in what's its vision is of freedom of expression, he said.

"There would be no freedom of speech if citizens' freedom of information is sacrificed to defend the techno oligarchs in the United States."

Costa said it was a worrying sign that Russia had welcomed Washington's new outlook as "largely consistent" with its own vision.

He said that the approach to the war in Ukraine laid out in the strategy did not support seeking the"just and durable" peaceas Europe has long advocated.

"This strategy continues to talk about Europe as an ally. That's fine, but if we are allies, we must act as allies," he said.

(with newswires)

Originally published on RFI

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