Forecast of Europe’s ‘civilisational erasure’ was part of call for pro-growth reform, says Trump official
Donald Trump’s administration has doubled down on its recent criticism of Europe, saying last month’s US national security strategy was an attempt to “jolt” an ally back to economic life.
The document was widely condemned in Europe as representing a seismic shift in the 70-year transatlantic alliance with its dark references to a purported threat of “civilisational erasure” with migration and censorship creating “strife”, “cratering birthrates” and “loss of national identities”.
Its threat to interfere in European politics and oppose what it termed as “elite-driven, anti-democratic restrictions on core liberties in Europe” was condemned as unacceptable by the president of the European Council of leaders, António Costa.
On Monday, Jacob Helberg, the US under secretary of state for economic affairs, told reporters the strategy was in fact a response to what Washington saw as an economic crisis and over-regulation.
