The European Union, along with France and Germany, on Wednesday criticized U.S. visa bans imposed on several Europeans involved in fighting online hate and disinformation, after President Donald Trump's administration took its latest swipe at long-standing allies across the Atlantic.
Washington imposed visa bans on Tuesday on five European citizens, including French former EU commissioner Thierry Breton. It accuses them of working to censor freedom of speech or unfairly target U.S. tech giants with burdensome regulation.
The bans mark a fresh escalation against Europe, a region Washington argues is fast becoming irrelevant due to its weak defenses, inability to tackle immigration, needless red tape and "censorship" of far-right and nationalist voices to keep them from power.
Rethinking Transatlantic ties
They come just weeks after a U.S. National Security Strategy document warned Europe faced "civilizational erasure" and must course-correct if it is to remain a reliable U.S. ally.
