This blog is my attempt to change the narrative on Europe from constant internal and external criticism to a “glass half full” perspective. Let’s revive the European Dream and counter plans by the current US administration to twist that dream into a right-wing nightmare.
The second part of the blog explains how we got here in an interview with Dr. Manfred Stinnes and what we all can do to strengthen liberal democracies on both sides of the Atlantic.
Part I
“Of course, the ultimate absurdity is the Trump condemnation of Europe . . . ,” writes an American friend from the US in his Christmas e-mail. He knows Europe well, has traveled widely, taught abroad and loves long walks through the French country side. Well in his 80s, he is still active. He recently rallied people in Maine to vote against a Republican attempt to curtail absentee voting (which 45 percent of Maine voters use). “[H]appily it was defeated by an almost 2/1 margin in November! “, he adds.
My friend is not alone in his fight to preserve US democracy, nor in his reaction to the Trump administration’s severe critique of Europe and political realignment. Trump’s US National Security Strategy (NSS), released on December 5, 2025, spells out the new ideology focusing on former trusted allies.
Foreign Policy Specialist Tara Varma sums it up in the Brookings Institution’s NSS analysis:
“Europe must prepare for what’s coming. . . . Indeed, a clear plan for subversion in Europe is laid out in the NSS. The word ‘Europe’ is mentioned 48 times in the NSS, demonstrating an evident interest in the continent’s future. But that interest does not extend to the foundations of the transatlantic alliance—namely, fostering liberal democracies and open societies on both sides of the Atlantic. The administration’s support for such foundations is now conditioned on full ideological alignment across the Atlantic.”
It is the “full ideological alignment” and US support in restoring “Europe’s civilizational self-confidence and Western identity” (NSS p. 5) that worry me, in particular. These foreign policy goals go way beyond the decades-old demands by various Democratic and Republican US administrations for Europe to up military spending and share the burden. The Trump administration openly supports the European Right and wants to see right-wing extremist parties in power such as the AFD in Germany. They are aiming for a “a new transatlantic alliance of revisionists” (Besch, Varma) that would be anti-EU, anti-NATO in its current form and pro-Russian.
The language applied to Europe in the NSS and other US documents curiously reads like a projection of how the American Right describes “liberal” America. “Liberal” America and Europe are accused of being responsible for economic decline, “censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition “, and unchecked immigration leading to a “ loss of national identities and self-confidence” (NSS p. 25). What the American and European Right seem to have in common is their goal to undermine the European Union, its institutions and regulatory framework.
It seems easy to criticize the European Union, even here, in Europe. “[N]ot that there aren’t problems, chiefly perhaps demographic,” my friend added in his Christmas e-mail. We tend to do just that, criticize perceived EU regulatory overreach and with it a loss of agency on the national level and bemoan the often slow decision-making processes in Brussels. We mostly talk about economics and, in recent years, military preparedness.
What we tend to forget in numerous discussions and articles is to stress the emotional side to the European idea: The EU is a peace project.
Founded after centuries of bloody wars and destruction, the EU offered a vision of a new Europe, a continent ready to forgive and cooperate. We need to revive this narrative, especially the generation of Cold-War kids who remember border controls, who first explored neighboring countries because Eurail passes made travels affordable, who participated in newly founded sister-city programs and individual school exchanges. We must tell young people in our classrooms and at workbenches that the ERASMUS exchange program is a gift that needs to be cherished, because we remember when an exchange semester at a foreign university was the exception and basically unaffordable. We need to tell the story of what a united Europe means to us and stand up for our values, our democracies and our children’s future. None of us who cherishes the European idea wants to go back to nation states strictly focusing on their own advantages at the detriment of our neighbors. We need to communicate our strong support for a united Europe to our politicians who seem to engage in rivalries rather than trusted cooperation and believe that badmouthing the EU will lure voters back from the extreme Right.
Nobody said the European unification process would be easy. Considering that 27 member states will never agree on everything, the EU has been remarkably successful. The values the EU stands for and is aspiring towards inspire young protesters inside members states fighting corruption as currently seen in Bulgaria, and outside the EU as in Serbia or Ukraine. We cannot let them down. We cannot let our own vision of a united Europe down.
So, how about a New Year’s resolution: Let’s change the narrative and stand up for the European Dream that needs “a Little Help from My Friends” urgently.
We ARE Europe.
Part II
I have asked Dr. Manfred Stinnes, US Foreign Policy specialist and former colleague at the US Embassy in Berlin, to provide a brief backgrounder on the new situation Europe finds itself in after decades of maintaining a stable alliance and a deep, though not always conflict-free, partnership with the US.
MK: Manfred, how do you explain the negative, even hostile attitude the current US administration has towards the EU since the US used to be a strong supporter of the initial European consolidation economically and politically?
MST: Originally, American policy strategists supported the growth of European unification as an important element to prevent a future European conflict. The American defense strategy in the Cold War wanted a strong Europe to deny the Soviet Union strategic advantages. Today’s conservative elites see Europe as taking advantage of the United States, i.e. not paying enough for NATO defense. For example, the charge is that Germany, as well as the entire EU, had a trade advantage vis-a-vis the USA, but did not share a fair defense burden. But more ideologically, the American Right as well as the current administration share a view of Europe the same way they see the American liberal and progressive political views: If Europe continues with its present political values, it will have no future and will decline or even historically vanish.
MK: The political Right in the US suggests that European living standards, health care and social safety nets exist at the expense of US citizens. They criticize the EU member states as free loaders and disregard that Europeans pay (higher) taxes and actually pay for universal health care. Obviously, the political will doesn’t exist in the US to install a similar system. Aren’t we talking about apples (military support/alliances) and oranges (social costs) here?
MST: Advocates on the Right believe that countries are powerful and internationally dominant when they have a military culture and correspondent hardware. An expansive welfare state does not have the “muscle” to produce a “heroic culture” that excels in international competition. The American Right despises European welfare values. They, supposedly, make the continent weak and produce a culture “without power” eventually leading to decline. The American Right is supporting a “heroic culture” which is respected, and are opposed to financing military security for a declining European culture. The American welfare state is kept purposefully weak so it doesn’t undermine “heroic” values.
The National Security Strategy also postulates that Europe will decline and disappear because its population is being replaced. It is a racist postulation, but it is being pursued in the US already. Another reason why Europe is despised.
MK: There seems to be a disconnect between the current US administration and the American people. According to a PEW study, about six-in-ten (61%) Americans hold a favorable view of the EU (numbers from 2023). How can Europeans counter this negative narrative of the EU by the current administration and preserve the positive impression most Americans have of the long-time ally?
MST: Indeed, the average American “likes” Europe. Europe is seen as a bit like “us”. Most American s believe that the US and Europe share common values. Americans have traditionally been ready to help defend Europe in times of crisis.
European countries should in turn support the liberal political culture in the US and encourage the majority of Americans to continue their opposition to anti-liberal and anti-democratic views and policies. Keeping the dialogue going and sharing a common political strategy is necessary for surviving in a newly dangerous world. This can be supported by, among others, academic exchanges, conferences organized by cultural organizations and trade union exchanges (American trade unions are not supporting the American Right). Consistent policy declarations by European governments and the EU will be quite helpful. We should not forget that the vast majority of American citizens are deeply opposed to the Trump Administration and its supporters. We need to support these many efforts in the United States to regain a healthy democracy and thus preserve our democratic system.
MK: Thank you, Manfred, for your valuable insights on European-US relations!
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https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-National-Security-Strategy.pdf
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/de/document/EPRS_ATA(2025)779261
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/polls/donald-trump-approval-rating-polls.html
