Irony died a thousand deaths in the Munich Security Conference in Germany, that was held recently, and the United Nations General Assembly vote on Ukraine.
A few days ago, in Saudi Arabia, the United States and Russia, led by their respective Foreign Ministers, had held bilateral discussions on the Ukraine war. The Ukrainians and Europeans were not invited since it was felt that they need not be included at this point. In June 2024, at the behest of Ukraine, the European Union (EU) and the U.S., Switzerland organised a ‘Summit on Peace in Ukraine’ at the Bürgenstock. Russia was not invited since they felt that Russia was not needed at that point.
In Munich, U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance accused Europe of strangling its right-wing parties, “shutting down” elections, “stifling” free speech and religious freedoms and encouraging “out of control” migration from non-EU countries, thereby endangering democratic polity, freedoms and “fundamental values”. But before November 2024, the Americans and the Europeans had tried to prevent their right-wing and far-right parties from gaining legitimacy through the ballot since they were convinced that the rise of right in their countries endangered democracy and freedoms — and, in effect, their liberal western values. Romania’s constitutional court even annulled the presidential election results where far-right independent candidate, Calin Georgescu, who lobbied to cut off assistance to Ukraine, won the first round.
What the U.S. forgets
In February 2025, the U.S. is accusing Ukraine, Germany and the Europeans of not doing enough to find a solution to the conflict, pursuing an unwinnable war with Russia. But the U.S. forgets that it has already spent over $110 billion in the Ukraine war, with $65 billion for ammunition only — more than what top western countries have collectively given Ukraine. The U.S. also forgets that in March 2022, it was the leader of a European country who, at the behest of the U.S., sabotaged negotiations (which had already commenced in Türkiye) between the Russians and the Ukrainians.
And, in September 2022, close allies of Germany sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines, rendering them inoperable and preventing Russia from supplying gas to Germany, which was its lifeline. But a reluctant, but much-chastised, Germany supplied Leopard tanks and other ammunition to Ukraine.
In addition, the U.S. exhorts Europe to take responsibility for its own security, substantially enhances its defence spending and not sponge on the disproportionate American role in North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The U.S. contributes 16% of NATO’s annual budget and to most of its troops. But the U.S. forgets that since the collapse of the Cold War, it was America that was reluctant to let the Europeans organise their own security and defence.
Today, the U.S. accuses the EU of not doing enough either on illegal migration from non-EU countries or on combating militant radical Islam to stop terror attacks that disrupt the western way of life.
A few years ago, in the UN, the U.S. and Europe, barring France, proclaimed that the danger of terrorism came from “racially and ethnically motivated violent extremism” (REMVE) in the U.S. as well as the rise of right-wing violent extremism in Europe, and not from radical Islam or disastrous migration policies of the West. At the UN, their “liberal” Ambassadors kept silent when the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) tried to undermine the collective fight against terror and the UN Alliance of Civilization (UNAOC) dismissed the terrorist attacks in France in 2020 as reaction to Islamophobia.
The problem with Europe
Europe, on its part, refuses to accept that its domestic policies, which, inter alia, encourage violent dissidents, radicals, terrorists, and refugees to seek citizenship, have transformed its demography, perhaps irrevocably. Its liberal open societies were taken advantage of by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) terrorists, Khalistani separatists and terrorists, the infamous Hamburg Cell of Al Qaeda (the pilots of the 9/11 terrorist attacks were from here) or by Islamic radicals killing Europeans in their own cities — Paris, Nice, Oslo, Vienna, Madrid, Brussels or elsewhere. Therefore, it was no surprise that right-wing parties began to sweep elections in Europe as a reaction to their leaders’ misplaced priorities. The recent election results in Germany which kept the far-right at bay, but only just, may be the last chance to find that elusive balance within the EU.
As Mr. Vance said in Munich, “If you’re running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing America can do for you.” Of course, the U.S. forgets that Trump 1.0 refused to accept the 2020 election loss and that the first act of Trump 2.0 was to pardon the perpetrators of the storming of the U.S. Capitol in 2021. But Europe’s claim that the U.S. is no less undemocratic or no less culpable in these issues, or the pointing to Germany’s Nazi past and the danger of its resurgence or to Russian aggression are not excuses for illiberal action against their far-right.
Europe seems to be in a state of denial. While the pursuit of ideology, liberal democracy and western values are laudable objectives, the EU leaders are complicit in the gradual eclipse of their own liberal values by allowing migrants, whose ethos are at direct variance with theirs. Their peoples’ counter-reaction is to vote for the far-right fearing for their own identity, way of life and even religion. It is a classic case of liberal policies being taken advantage of by illiberal values.
In Munich, India’s External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, called out the West for claiming to promote democratic values at home but supporting non-democratic forces outside, especially in the Global South. Recent instances of the West effecting regime changes in the Global South include the forcible takeover of power by radical Taliban in Afghanistan in August 2021 and the overthrow of the Syrian President in December 2024 by Ahmed al-Shaara, a former leader of al-Qaeda in the region — all in the name of ushering in democracy.
However, on the Ukraine war, while Europe and the U.S. hitched themselves to the Zelenskyy bandwagon to emasculate Russia, in a dramatic turn of events, the chasm between the new U.S. initiatives and entrenched European positions burst into the open in the UN General Assembly when the U.S. voted with Russia against the European/Ukrainian draft resolution but could not stop it from being adopted. More drama could follow in the UN Security Council, but it is only a pyrrhic win for Europe — without America, the Ukraine war is as good as over.
The trans-Atlantic partnership is relevant
Despite the jolts at Munich and the UN General Assembly, proclaiming that the trans-Atlantic partnership between the U.S. and Europe is over is premature. The call from the U.S. administration for retreat from Europe seems tactical, to renegotiate a better deal, and not strategic. With a new centrist leadership in Germany, maybe it is time for Europe to undertake course correction, invest more in its own security, combat the rise of radical values in its societies, pursue a more independent foreign policy and rework its relations with the U.S. Ironically, the trans-Atlantic partnership is even more relevant now in the face of “no-limits” partnership between Russia and China. The U.S.’s ability to walk away from Europe is overstated, just as the ability of Europe to weather the storm is understated.
When a reporter asked Mahatma Gandhi what he thought of western civilisation, he is reported to have replied: “I think it would be a good idea.”
T.S. Tirumurti was Ambassador/Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, New York (2020-22)
Published – February 26, 2025 12:16 am IST