Overview
- In his annual address, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Europe has the right to reject U.S. proposals it deems unacceptable.
- Barrot cited external pressure through territorial incursions on the EU’s eastern flank, trade coercion, and U.S. claims to Greenland, which he stressed is not for sale.
- He rejected the U.S. national security strategy’s language about Europe facing “civilizational erasure” and its call to cultivate right‑wing resistance inside the EU.
- Barrot criticized U.S. sanctions on European anti‑disinformation figures and former EU officials, including Thierry Breton, as challenges to Europe’s rule‑making sovereignty.
- Warning of eroding arms control and the Feb. 5 expiry of New START, he said proliferation risks are rising as Russia strikes western Ukraine near the Polish border.