Germany slams US over Europe claims in national security strategy

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has strongly rejected parts of a new US national security strategy which paint a bleak picture of freedom of expression in Europe.

Speaking at a meeting with his Icelandic counterpart Thorgerdur Katrín Gunnarsdóttir in Berlin on Friday, Wadephul said he does not believe "that anyone needs to give us advice" on freedom of speech, a principle which is protected by "our constitutional order."

While emphasizing that the US is and remains Germany's most important ally in NATO, Wadephul stressed that the country was proud of its "free media." 

In a new national security strategy released by the White House late on Thursday, the Trump administration laments an erosion of democracy and freedom of expression in Europe and calls for a change of course.

"The larger issues facing Europe include activities of the European Union and other transnational bodies that undermine political liberty and sovereignty, migration policies that are transforming the continent and creating strife, censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-confidence," the text states.

With regard to Russia's war on Ukraine, "the Trump Administration finds itself at odds with European officials who hold unrealistic expectations for the war perched in unstable minority governments, many of which trample on basic principles of democracy to suppress opposition."