Renew Europe President Valérie Hayer has just returned from an ad-hoc mission to Washington, where she assessed the political situation on the ground and held high-level discussions with U.S. counterparts. Renew Europe expresses deep concern and strong opposition to the recently presented White House National Security Strategy, whose language and assumptions about the European Union are not only factually wrong but strategically reckless. The document depicts Europe as a continent on the brink of “civilizational erasure”, questions the reliability of EU Member States as democratic allies, and suggests that Europe is a passive marketplace to be opened for unilateral American interests. Such assertions are unacceptable from a partner that claims to value the transatlantic relationship.
Instead of strengthening Western unity in the face of Russia’s aggression, the strategy weakens it. It fails to clearly condemn Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and war crimes, shifts the burden for ending the war onto Ukraine and Europe, and ignores the sacrifices Europeans are making every day to defend our shared democratic security.
Valérie Hayer, Renew Europe President:
“Having just returned from high-level meetings in Washington with our parliamentary delegation, I witnessed a striking gap between a completely detached White House and the far more measured voices of U.S. lawmakers and policy professionals. It is evident that President Trump is increasingly isolated from his own experts, relying instead on a narrow circle of misguided advisers — and this dynamic has produced the kind of deeply flawed and strategically dangerous document now presented as a National Security Strategy.”
Valérie HayerRenew Europe MEP, France, Renaissance
The strategy’s framing of Europe as a declining civilization undermined by migration, regulation, and political pluralism constitutes a frontal attack on European values and the European way of life. It portrays the EU as a “lame duck” incapable of self-determination - an insulting and inaccurate caricature of a Union that remains one of the world’s most robust economic, scientific, and democratic forces.
Moreover, by openly calling for Europe to “open its markets” to U.S. goods as part of President Trump's geoeconomic goals, the document reveals an approach to the alliance that is transactional at best and exploitative at worst.
Sophie Wilmès, vice-chair of the Delegation for relations with the United States :
“The United States needs reliable allies, and so does Europe. But true alliances are built on mutual respect, not condescension or the suggestion that Europe’s value lies merely in absorbing American products. I firmly oppose any narrative that diminishes the European Union, aims to divide us, disregards our European values or questions Europe's democratic legitimacy.”
Sophie WilmèsRenew Europe MEP, Belgium, Mouvement Réformateur
Renew Europe President Valérie Hayer calls on the U.S. administration to reaffirm its unequivocal support for Ukraine and condemn Russia’s imperialism and aggression without ambiguity, to abandon narratives that undermine European democracy or question the commitment of EU Member States to the Alliance, and to pursue transatlantic economic cooperation based on mutual interest, fairness, reciprocity and innovation rather than unilateral advantage.
At the same time, the European Union must act with absolute urgency.
Valérie Hayer, Renew Europe President:
"Europe must deliver: We need to accelerate our defence capabilities, equip our competitiveness for a new geopolitical and technological reality, and drive European innovation, resilience, and strategic independence at unprecedented speed. This moment demands resolve, clarity and ambition."
Valérie HayerRenew Europe MEP, France, Renaissance
The transatlantic partnership remains vital, but it must be grounded in mutual respect, truth, and shared democratic purpose. Renew Europe will continue to defend the Union’s sovereignty, its democratic values, and its capacity to act as a global power- confidently, and decisively.