Vance attack on Europe overshadows Ukraine talks at Munich security conference

MUNICH - US Vice-President J.D. Vance accused European leaders on Feb 14 of censoring free speech and failing to control immigration, drawing a sharp rebuke from Germany’s defence minister and overshadowing discussions on the war in Ukraine.

The prospect of peace talks had been expected to dominate the annual Munich Security Conference after a call between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin this week but Mr Vance barely mentioned Russia or Ukraine in his speech to the gathering.

He said the threat to Europe that worried him most was not Russia or China but what he called a retreat from fundamental values of protecting free speech – as well as immigration, which he said was “out of control” in Europe.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius hit back in his speech to the conference later in the day, calling Mr Vance’s remarks “unacceptable”.

He said Mr Vance had called into question democracy not only in Germany but in Europe as a whole.

The clash underlined the divergent world views of Mr Trump’s new administration and European leaders, making it hard for long-time allies the United States and Europe to find common ground on issues including Ukraine.

Many conference delegates watched Mr Vance’s speech in stunned silence, and there was little applause as he delivered his remarks.

After his speech,

Mr Vance met Ms Alice Weidel, the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party

, a move likely to draw criticism as unwelcome interference ahead of German federal elections on Feb 23.

Mr Trump’s call with Mr Putin alarmed European governments, which have tried to isolate the Russian President since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and fear they could be cut out of peace talks that would have repercussions for their own security.

Mr Vance, who met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Munich on Feb 14, told the Wall Street Journal in an interview before the conference that Mr Trump could use several tools – economic and military – for leverage with President Putin.

Mr Vance’s spokesman, Mr William Martin, later took issue with the newspaper’s interpretation that the Vice-President had been threatening Russia.

On Feb 15, German conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz joined his domestic political rivals in condemning Mr Vance’s criticism.

“We stick to the rules imposed by our democratic institutions,” Mr Merz said in a panel discussion at the security conference. Polls show his conservative bloc in the lead ahead of general elections in Germany on Feb 23.

Germany is a staunch defender of freedom of speech “but fake news and hate speech remain subject to legal restraints”, he added.

Mr Zelensky said at the Munich conference that he would talk to Mr Putin only once Ukraine had agreed on a common plan with Mr Trump and European leaders.

Mr Vance and Mr Zelensky declined to give details of what they discussed in Munich but the Ukrainian President reiterated that his country needs “real security guarantees”.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned against any attempt to impose a peace deal on Ukraine. “A sham peace – over the heads of Ukrainians and Europeans – would gain nothing,” she said. “A sham peace would not bring lasting security, neither for the people in Ukraine nor for us in Europe or the United States.”

Russia now holds about 20 per cent of Ukraine nearly three years after its full-scale invasion, saying Kyiv’s pursuit of Nato membership posed an existential threat. Ukraine and the West call Russia’s action an imperialist land grab.

Mr Vance also repeated Mr Trump’s demand that Europe do more to safeguard its own defence so that Washington can focus on other regions, particularly the Indo-Pacific.

“In the future, we think Europe is going to have to take a bigger role in its own security,” he said in a meeting with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Nato’s secretary-general Mark Rutte said Mr Vance was “absolutely right” about the need for Europe “stepping up” and doing more for its own defence. “We have to grow up in that sense and spend much more,” Mr Rutte said.

At the conference, several European leaders echoed his comments, saying Europe would step up its defence spending but needed to discuss with Washington on a gradual phasing-out of its support.

Prior to his meeting with the AfD leader, Mr Vance suggested in his speech that the group is an eligible political partner, appearing to denounce a policy not to work with the AfD held by Germany’s major political parties.

The anti-immigration AfD is monitored by German security services on suspicion of being right-wing extremist. It is currently polling at around 20 per cent ahead of the Feb 23 general election.

Billionaire businessman Elon Musk, the biggest donor to Mr Trump’s 2024 election effort and now head of Mr Trump’s task force to slash US government spending, has also publicly backed the AfD. REUTERS