JD Vance drew attention with his speech at the security conference in Munich on Friday.
Instead of focusing on Russia's war of aggression and how a possible peace plan in Ukraine could look, he focused, among other things, on illegal immigration and the threat to freedom of speech in Europe.
The threat I am most concerned about regarding Europe is not Russia, China, or any other external actor. What I am worried about is the threat from within, that Europe is backing away from some of its most fundamental values, values that it shares with the USA, said Vance.
"Remarkable"
Jan Hallenberg, professor emeritus of political science, emphasizes that the speech takes place at a time when many Europeans are extremely worried about Russia's actions.
It is remarkable. It is also extremely remarkable that a representative of an administration that damages democracy more than any other administration has done in modern history in the USA, is lecturing Europe on how our democracies should function, says Hallenberg.
Hallenberg wonders if the speech was not so much directed at Europeans, but rather at the American audience.
But I do not think it will have any positive effects, but rather it shows the gap that exists between today's USA and most of Europe. And I think that is bleak, because Europe's security needs an engaged USA, he says.
"Not reliable in the long run"
How worrying is it for Europe's security that he expresses himself like this?
The speech itself is not decisive, but what is decisive is how they act in the Ukraine issue, and we still do not know that.
JD Vance met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, but it is unclear what resulted from the meeting. No major announcements were made after the meeting.
Vance also took the opportunity to urge Europe to strengthen its defense, as the USA must focus on threats in other parts of the world.
I think that is reasonable, and Europeans also realize that. After the speech, it became even clearer that we cannot expect the USA to be reliable in the long run under these guys, but that Europe must rely on itself, says Hallenberg.
