US V-P JD Vance criticises European leaders over ‘threat from within’, says freedom is in ‘danger’

Indicating towards the change in US, Vance said, “In Washington there is a new sheriff in town, and under Donald Trump’s leadership, we may disagree with your views, but we will fight to defend your right to offer it in the public square agree or disagree,” Vance said, adding, “Dismissing people, dismissing their concerns … shutting down media, shutting down elections … protects nothing. It is the most surefire way to destroy democracy … If you’re running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing America can do for you.”

Elections

Vance specifically called out a former European Commissioner—widely understood to be Thierry Breton—for approving the annulment of Romanian elections and hinting at similar possibilities in Germany. He criticised European courts for canceling elections and warned that democratic principles were being undermined.

“When we see European courts canceling elections and senior officials threatening to cancel others, we ought to ask whether we’re holding ourselves to an appropriately high standard,” Vance said.

He further took aim at “cavalier” statements from European officials “sounding delighted” about the expansive content moderation powers or other free speech restrictions in the US, Germany and Sweden, saying there were “shocking to American ears.”

He dismissed fears that foreign influence through digital advertising could undermine elections, saying, “If you believe that, then your democracy was not very strong to begin with.”

On a similar note, he dismissed any criticism of Elon Musk’s alleged interference in European elections, saying “if American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg’s scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk.”

Free Speech

Vance also decried restrictions on free speech, pointing to German police raids against online commentators, Sweden’s plans to prosecute an activist for Quran burnings, and the UK’s enforcement of “protection zones” around abortion clinics. He insisted that “we must do more than talk about democratic values. We must live them now.”

He further rebuked EU efforts to exclude populist parties from major discussions, likening such actions to Soviet-era suppression of dissent. “To many of us on the other side of the Atlantic, it looks like old entrenched interests hiding behind ugly Soviet era words like misinformation … who simply don’t like that idea that somebody with an alternative viewpoint might express a different opinion,” he said.

Urging European leaders to respect their citizens’ voices, Vance warned, “If you’re running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing America can do for you.”

“You cannot win a democratic mandate by censoring your opponents or putting them in jail.”

Immigrants

Turning to migration, the US vice president says “there is nothing more urgent than mass migration.”

Vance referenced the recent attack in Munich involving an Afghan asylum seeker, asking, “How many times must we suffer these appalling setbacks before we change course and take our shared civilisation in a new direction?”, adding that the number of immigrants from non-EU countries who entered the bloc doubled from 2021 to 2022.

He linked the issue to populist movements like Brexit, arguing that dismissing voter concerns about migration threatens democracy.

This was “the result of a series of conscious decisions made by politicians all over the continent,” Vance said.

Meanwhile, speaking of Ukraine, US vice president said the Trump administration “is very concerned with European security and believes that we can come to a reasonable settlement between Russia and Ukraine”.

It also believes “that it’s important in the coming years for Europe to step up in a big way to provide for its own defence”, Vance told the Conference.