U.S. Vice President JD Vance used his address at the Munich Security Conference to warn that free speech appears to be “in retreat” across Europe and that “unvetted” immigration represents a dire threat to the continent.
While the center of attention in the run-up to the three-day conference was the push by U.S. President Donald Trump to seek a peace deal that would end Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine, Vance zeroed in on what he portrayed as Europe’s divergence from core values.'
"The threat that I worry the most about vis-a-vis Europe is not Russia. It's not China, it's not any other external actor. And what I worry about is the threat from within. The retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values," Vance said.
'Free Speech, I Fear, Is In Retreat'
Both Trump and Vance have been sharply critical of what they view as restrictions of free speech in Europe, in particular regarding EU regulation of social media with the stated aim of tackling hate speech and misinformation.
“In Washington, there is a new sheriff in town. And under Donald Trump’s leadership, we may disagree with your views, but we will fight to defend your right to offer it in the public square,” Vance said.
"Across Europe, free speech, I fear, is in retreat," he added.
Vance also addressed what he called Europe’s decision to open the “floodgates to millions of unvetted immigrants," echoing one of the central campaigning issues that Trump ran on in his successful bid for the White House last year.
Munich Attack
His address came one day after an Afghan asylum-seeker was arrested in Munich over a car-ramming attack that left dozens wounded and appears to have had an Islamic extremist motive.
"How many times must we suffer these appalling setbacks before we change course and take our shared civilization in a new direction?" Vance said.
"Why did this happen in the first place? It's a terrible story, but it's one we've heard way too many times in Europe and, unfortunately, too many times in the United States as well,” Vance added, calling migration to Europe “out of control.”
Ahead of his speech, Vance said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that "unfortunately, the will of voters has been ignored by a lot of our European friends" on the issue of immigration.
German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit told a news conference on February 14 that outsiders “may not have a full overview of the political debate" in Germany and should not be "meddling in the internal affairs of a friendly country."
