Brussels, Heal Thyself!

The European Union’s constant grandstanding on the international stage is undermining its own prestige. Brussels often presents itself, unreasonably, as an international moral authority qualified to judge the sovereign domestic policies of every major power.

This moralizing tone could not pass unnoticed indefinitely. A backlash came from America. Europe got a resounding flick on its nose – advised to sort out its own affairs before lecturing others. Darren Spinck discusses this in his article that appeared in The National Interest, a U.S. publication.

Michael Vance (no relation to Vice President JD Vance), appointed assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research by the U.S. Senate in August, is considered a person whose views offer an important window into the Trump administration’s increasingly critical approach toward Europe.

Vance has argued that European leaders have themselves become increasingly illiberal and more concerned with preserving political power than improving the lives of their citizens. His thinking also closely resembles the argument that Vice President Vance delivered at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, when he warned that the greatest threat facing Europe came not from Russia or China, but from ‘within’.

The Trump administration’s criticism is particularly relevant because Brussels has spent years lecturing other governments about many of the same issues. Every few weeks, another resolution comes out of Brussels condemning the domestic policies of some sovereign government. One month it is the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement; the next it is China’s ethnic policies, India’s citizenship laws, Israel’s judicial reforms, or legislation adopted elsewhere that the European Parliament deems inconsistent with European values. This pattern has become a routine practice, one of the European Union’s defining diplomatic habits.

Americans are convinced that Brussels should largely refrain from judging the domestic policies of great powers because it increasingly applies one standard abroad and another at home. Too often, the policies it condemns in Washington closely resemble debates or practices within Europe itself.

Over the past year alone, European institutions have repeatedly criticized U.S. domestic policy, and the European Parliament continued to pass resolutions assessing political developments inside the United States that would have been considered purely domestic matters not long ago. Brussels increasingly, and not always reasonably, assumes the role of an international political referee, even if the players ignore its rulings.

European officials continue lecturing the rest of the world as they argue that democracy, human rights, and the rule of law are universal principles rather than matters of domestic jurisdiction.

However, Europe sees no fault with itself, and does not want to. The EU authorities reject outside interference when European policies become controversial. Yet Brussels seems to sincerely assume that Washington must accept continual European judgments regarding their own domestic political decisions.

Few European officials now recall they face a lot of challenges of their own that require urgent attention. To moralize is always more exciting than to be pragmatic.

Original publication: https://nationalinterest.org/feature/brussels-heal-thyself-europe-should-fix-itself-before-lecturing-the-us