US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrives to attend the meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, part of the meeting of NATO Ministers of Defence Summit at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on October 15, 2025. (Photo by NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP)
U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has urged European leaders to take stronger measures to address migration, describing the arrival of migrants on the continent’s shores as an “invasion” during a speech marking the 82nd anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, France.
As reported by the BBC on Sunday, speaking at commemorations honouring Allied forces who stormed the beaches of Nazi-occupied France in 1944, Hegseth drew parallels between historical and contemporary challenges facing Europe.
“Sadly, today, different European beaches are stormed by different dangerous ideologies. “Beaches in Spain, Italy, Greece and Bulgaria. Boats and men arrive. When will European capitals do something about that invasion?” he said.
Migration has become a major political issue across Europe, with support for parties advocating stricter immigration policies growing in several countries.
