US security strategy a wake-up call for EU

The European Union has been in panic mode after the recent release of the 2025 United States National Security Strategy, in which the EU has been depicted in the harshest language ever by its transatlantic big brother.

In a section titled "Promoting European Greatness", the NSS warns that European problems are deeper than insufficient military spending and economic stagnation. It says the economic decline is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure, citing concerns about political liberty, sovereignty, migration policies, censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition among many other issues.

It also reminds the EU of US Vice-President JD Vance's strong criticism of the EU at the Munich Security Conference earlier this year.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has not yet commented on the NSS, but the report has been regarded as provocative and insulting by many Europeans. European Council President Antonio Costa was a bit guarded, saying "Europeans do not share the same vision as the Americans on various issues. This is natural. What we cannot accept is the threat of interference in Europe's democratic life." Former EU top diplomat Josep Borrell was more blunt, calling the NSS "a declaration of political war on the EU".

What makes the tone in the NSS more jarring, Europeans say, is that Washington's language about China and Russia in the security document is far less hawkish and hostile.

And Borrell is right. EU leaders have been in shock mode since the beginning of the year when Trump rolled out his policy on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which was totally different from that of the Biden administration.

European leaders now publicly talk about ceasefire and a negotiated settlement in order not to offend Trump. Under the Biden administration, they parroted the then US secretary of state Antony Blinken's rhetoric that the US and its allies should not support a ceasefire or peace talks to end the Ukraine conflict until Kyiv gains strength and can negotiate on its own terms.

The prolonged and escalated conflict has turned out to be extremely costly and destructive not only for Russia and Ukraine, but also for the EU. The 19 rounds of sanctions against Russia did hurt Moscow but also shot the EU in the foot.

The NSS was correct in pointing out that overregulation is another self-inflicted wound. Citing the fact that the EU's share in global GDP has declined from 25 percent in 1990 to 14 percent today, the NSS argues that the EU's national and transnational regulations have undermined creativity and choked industriousness.

For years, the EU had touted itself as a regulation giant, but its excessive regulations have been a major headache for Chinese companies investing and doing business in Europe as noted in the annual report of the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU. Chinese companies face discrimination because the EU specifically targets Chinese companies in many of its economic policies and trade barriers. In fact, former Italian prime minister Mario Draghi also blasted the EU for overregulation in his report on EU competitiveness a year ago.

Under pressure from the US, the EU also banned Huawei 5G and froze the ratification of the China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, which turned out to be a great loss of opportunity for EU businesses and consumers. The same is true for von der Leyen's de-risking strategy which seeks to reduce economic and trade ties with China.

Much of the EU's policy toward China has been heavily influenced by Washington, especially during the first Trump administration and through the Biden years. If the 2025 NSS could teach the EU anything, it is that the bloc should seek strategic autonomy and no longer allow the US to use it as a geopolitical tool against China.

For decades, the EU had got used to being pampered by the US. But a slap in the face in this year's NSS is a good wake-up call for the EU to become independent in a multipolar world.

The author is a China Daily columnist.