The EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has rejected claims by the United States that Europe is facing 'civilisational erasure', denouncing what she called 'fashionable euro-bashing' by Washington. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Kallas argued that other countries still look up to Europe because of its values.
Her remarks capped a tense three-day conference where transatlantic relations were under strain. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a speech urging Europe to change its policies on migration, trade and defence spending to accommodate US leadership. Kallas suggested some of Rubio's comments were aimed at a domestic audience.
Kallas challenged US criticism of European media freedom, noting that her home country, Estonia, ranks second in the world press freedom index while the US ranks 58th. On Ukraine, she said the EU is not ready to offer a date for membership and dismissed the idea of accession as early as 2027 as unrealistic.
Rubio had offered a conditional new partnership, describing America as 'a child of Europe' but insisting on reforms. He also sidestepped questions on why US intelligence agencies did not join a European report concluding that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned by a toxin, saying it was not 'our endeavour'. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, however, said UK-US intelligence cooperation was closer than ever.
