Germany
Germany rebukes Vance stance
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz delivered a strong rebuke to US Vice President JD Vance's attack on Europe's stance toward hate speech and the far right, saying it was not right for others to tell Germany, and Europe, what to do.
A day earlier at the Munich Security Conference, Vance lambasted European leaders, accusing them of censoring free speech and strongly criticising German mainstream parties' firewall against the far-right AfD.
"It is not for others to give us the advice to cooperate with this party that we are not working with for good reasons," Scholz said.
"That is not appropriate, especially not among friends and allies. We firmly reject that," he said.
The anti-immigration AfD, currently polling at around 20 per cent ahead of the February 23 general election, has pariah status among other major German parties in a country with a taboo about ultranationalist politics because of its Nazi past.
"Never again fascism, never again racism, never again aggressive war."
That is why an overwhelming majority in our country opposes anyone who glorifies or justifies criminal National Socialism," Scholz said, referring to the ideology of Adolf Hitler's 1933-45 Nazi regime.
Referring more broadly to Vance's criticism of Europe's curtailing of hate speech, which he has likened to censorship, Scholz said:
"Today's democracies in Germany and Europe are founded on the historic awareness and realisation that democracies can be destroyed by radical anti-democrats.
"And this is why we've created institutions that ensure that our democracies can defend themselves against their enemies, and rules that do not restrict or limit our freedom but protect it."
The prospect of talks to end the Ukraine-Russia war had been expected to dominate the annual Munich conference after a call between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin this week, but Vance barely mentioned Russia or Ukraine in his speech to the gathering on Friday.
Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are to speak on the second day of the Conference, after Vance's attack on the America's European allies raised questions about the US commitment to help Ukraine's defence against Russian forces.
Instead, 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.
New reality; fading friendship
European leaders are trying to make sense of Washington’s tough new line on issues including democracy and Ukraine's future, as the Trump administration continues to upend trans-Atlantic conventions that have been in place since after World War II.
President Zelensky at the Munich Security Conference. – AP
US President Trump held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week in which he said the two leaders would likely meet soon to negotiate a peace deal. Trump later assured Zelensky that he, too, would have a seat at the table. The war was sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
The Ukrainian leader had already said that his country wants security guarantees before any talks with Russia. Shortly before meeting with Vance in Munich, Zelensky said he will only agree to meet in-person with Putin after a common plan is negotiated with Trump. After a 40-minute meeting with Zelensky, Vance said the Trump administration wants the war to end.
Beforehand, Vance lectured European officials on free speech and illegal migration on the continent, warning that they risk losing public support if they don't quickly change course.
"The threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia. It's not China. It's not any other external actor," Vance said in a speech that drew a tepid response. "What I worry about is the threat from within — the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America."
On the sidelines of the event, Vance met with Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party, nine days before a German election.
Mainstream German parties say they won't work with the party — in a longstanding stance to shun the extreme right in a country scarred by Nazism. Vance later headed back to Washington.
Among other speakers set to take the dais in Munich were NATO chief Mark Rutte and foreign ministers from countries including Canada, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia and from Syria's new government.
