A top European Union official on Sunday (February 15, 2026) rejected the notion that Europe faces “civilisational erasure,” pushing back at criticism of the continent by the Trump administration.

E.U. foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas addressed the Munich Security Conference a day after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a somewhat reassuring message to European allies.

Mr. Rubio struck a less aggressive tone than Vice President J.D. Vance did in lecturing them at the same gathering last year but maintained a firm tone on Washington’s intent to reshape the trans-Atlantic alliance and push its policy priorities.

Ms. Kallas alluded to criticism in the U.S. national security strategy released in December, which asserted that economic stagnation in Europe “is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilisational erasure.” It suggested that Europe is being enfeebled by its immigration policies, declining birth rates, “censorship of free speech and suppression of political Opposition” and a “loss of national identities and self-confidence.”

“Contrary to what some may say, woke, decadent Europe is not facing civilisational erasure,” Ms. Kallas told the conference. “In fact, people still want to join our club and not just fellow Europeans,” she added, saying she was told when visiting Canada last year that many people there have an interest in joining the E.U.. Ms. Kallas rejected what she called “European-bashing.”

“We are, you know, pushing humanity forward, trying to defend human rights and all this, which is actually bringing also prosperity for people. So that’s why it’s very hard for me to believe these accusations.” In his conference speech, Mr. Rubio said that an end to the trans-Atlantic era “is neither our goal nor our wish,” adding that “our home may be in the Western hemisphere, but we will always be a child of Europe.”

He made clear that the Trump administration is sticking to its guns on issues such as migration, trade, and climate. And European officials who addressed the gathering made clear that they, in turn, will stand by their values, including their approach to free speech, climate change and free trade.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Saturday (February 14, 2026) that Europe must defend “the vibrant, free and diverse societies that we represent, showing that people who look different to each other can live peacefully together, that this isn’t against the tenor of our times.” “Rather, it is what makes us strong,” he said.

Ms. Kallas said Mr. Rubio’s speech sent an important message that America and Europe are and will remain intertwined. “It is also clear that we don’t see eye to eye on all the issues and this will remain the case as well, but I think we can work from there,” she said.

Europe must step up efforts on defence and play a bigger role in NATO as US President Donald Trump has “shaken the transatlantic relationship to its foundation”, EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas said Wednesday (January 28, 2026).

Mr. Trump rocked European allies this month by threatening to seize Greenland from NATO and EU member Denmark — before eventually backing off.

The crisis — the latest to buffet ties since his return to power a year ago — has reinforced calls for the continent to cut its decades-long reliance on NATO’s dominant military superpower for protection.

“Let me be clear: we want strong transatlantic ties. The US will remain Europe’s partner and ally. But Europe needs to adapt to the new realities. Europe is no longer Washington’s primary centre of gravity,” Ms. Kallas told a defence conference in Brussels.

“This shift has been ongoing for a while. It is structural, not temporary. It means that Europe must step up — no great power in history has outsourced its survival and survived.”

Ms. Kallas remained clear-eyed that NATO remains the bedrock of European security.

She said EU efforts should “remain complementary” to those of the alliance, but insisted Europe needed to play a bigger role.

“Especially now, as the US is setting its sights beyond Europe, NATO needs to become more European to maintain its strength,” she said.

“For this, Europe must act.”

European countries have already ramped up defence budgets since Russia invaded Ukraine, and agreed last year to massively hike NATO’s spending target under pressure from Mr. Trump.

The EU last year also launched a raft of initiatives that it says could see its members plough an additional €800 billion into defence.

Washington meanwhile has said it wants European allies to take over more responsibility for the conventional defence of the continent as U.S. focus switches to other threats like China.

‘Keep on dreaming’

Ms. Kallas’ comments come after NATO chief Mark Rutte told EU lawmakers to “keep on dreaming” if they thought Europe could defend itself without the United States.

Mr. Rutte insisted Europe would have to double its spending targets to afford the “billions and billions of euros” it would cost to replace the U.S. nuclear umbrella.

The head of the Western military alliance warned that if Europe tried to build its own forces to replace the United States in NATO then it would play into Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s hands.

“Putin will love it. So think again,” Mr. Rutte said.

Instead he urged the EU to use its traditional strengths to generate funding and cut regulation to help the defence industry grow.

EU defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius, speaking at the same event as Ms. Kallas, insisted Europe needed to “rapidly build our independence — independence in defence: without delays and without excuses”.

“To be clear, independence does not mean alone. Independence means together,” he added.

Camille Grand, the head of European defence lobby group ASD, told AFP manufacturers would be able to match almost all the capabilities the United States can produce in the coming years.

But he said the aim was not to eliminate US support entirely — but rather for European forces to be able to take the lead in defending the continent.

“Is the baseline scenario: the United States defends Europe, or does Europe defend Europe with the help of the United States?” he said.

“It is important that Europeans reach this second scenario as quickly as possible.”

India and the European Union agreed on Wednesday (January 21, 2026) to sign a new Security and Defence Partnership covering maritime security, cybersecurity and counterterrorism, the E.U.’s highest ranking diplomat Kaja Kallas announced.

The partnership will be signed next week during the visit of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa to India, where they will be chief guests at Republic Day celebrations. The leaders will co-chair the 16th India-E.U. Summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The preparations for the visit were going well, but were not without challenges, said Ms. Kallas, who will be accompanying the leaders to India.

The visit is centred around the signing of a ‘Free Trade’ Agreement (FTA), which is still being finalised.

India and the E.U. will adopt a new comprehensive strategic agenda next week, using a 2030 planning horizon, Ms. Kallas told European parliamentarians in Strasbourg. She noted that the E.U. is among India’s largest trading partners and described India as “indispensable” to Europe’s economic resilience.

The two sides worked on the joint statement and agenda mindful of the fact that the Summit “must deliver, taking into account the geopolitical landscape”, Ms. Kallas said.

Additionally, the two sides are also aiming to conclude a Security of Information Agreement, Ms. Kallas said, adding that in a dangerous world, India and the E.U. could benefit from working together.

“[The] E.U. and India are moving closer together at a time when the rules-based international order is under unprecedented pressure through wars, coercion, and economic fragmentation,” she said. Alongside the Russia-Ukraine war entering its fourth year next month, Europe has faced geopolitical shocks emanating from the White House over the last year, with U.S. President Donald Trump renegotiating the basis of the transatlantic relationship. In recent days, Mr. Trump threatened tariffs on several European countries if they did not facilitate the transfer of Greenland to the U.S.

Ms, Kallas told MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) that India and the E.U. must become more ambitious partners. “Two major democracies cannot afford to hesitate,” she said.

During the visit to New Delhi next week, the two sides plan to conclude an Memorandum of Understanding on a comprehensive mobility framework, to facilitate the movement of students, seasonal workers, researchers and highly skilled professionals, and promoting research and innovation, Ms. Kallas said.

“In the Indo-Pacific and beyond, Europe and India can help anchor stability by defending open sea lanes, strengthening maritime domain awareness and resisting coercion in all of its forms,” Ms. Kallas told parliamentarians.

The European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief said on Friday (August 22, 2025) that the possibility of Ukraine ceding land to Russia as part of a peace deal to end their three-year war is “a trap” set by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Russian leader is demanding Ukrainian concessions in return for halting his army’s invasion, but granting him those demands would amount to rewarding the country that started the fighting, Kaja Kallas said.

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The recent talk about handing Putin concessions is “exactly the trap that Russia wants us to walk into,” Ms. Kallas said in an interview with the BBC.

“I mean, the discussion all about what Ukraine should give up, what the concessions that Ukraine is willing to (make), whereas we are forgetting that Russia has not made one single concession and they are the ones who are the aggressor here, they are the ones who are brutally attacking another country and killing people,” she said.

U.S.-led peace efforts have struggled to get traction, despite US President Donald Trump discussing the war with Putin in Alaska last week before hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House on Monday.

Numerous details for a formal peace proposal need to be hammered out.

Meanwhile, Russia has continued to attack Ukraine and has raised objections to some key Ukrainian demands.

Establishing postwar Western security guarantees for Ukraine, which Kyiv insists are needed to deter another Russian attack, is under discussion by a variety of countries, Kallas said, noting that “it does sound like we are some way off in terms of pinning that down.”

“Russia is just dragging feet. It’s clear that Russia does not want peace,” Kallas said. “President Trump has been repeatedly saying that the killing has to stop, and Putin is just laughing, not stopping the killing, but increasing the killing.”

Ukraine, meanwhile, has hit back at Russia with long-range weapons that are targeting infrastructure supporting Moscow’s war effort. It has hit oil refineries, among other targets, and Russian wholesale gasoline prices have reached record highs in recent days.

Ukrainian forces on Friday targeted the Druzhba oil pipeline in Russia, hitting the Unecha oil pumping station in the Bryansk region, according to the commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, Robert Brovdy, also known as Magyar.

The Druzhba pipeline starts in Russia and takes oil through Belarus and Ukraine to Slovakia and Hungary. In Russia, a section of it goes through the Bryansk region and the Unecha district.

Ukraine fired HIMARS rockets and drones at the region in a combined attack, Bryansk regional Gov Alexander Bogomaz said in a Telegram post.

The pipeline supplies Hungary with more than half of its crude oil. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto wrote on Facebook on Friday that the Druzhba pipeline had been attacked “for the third time in a short time.”

“This is another attack on the energy security of our country. Another attempt to drag us into war,” the minister wrote.

Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orban has taken a combative stance toward both Kyiv and its EU backers while most EU countries have offered political, financial, and military support to Kyiv.

Orban visited Moscow to meet with Putin last month in a rare trip to Russia by a European leader.

Slovakia and Hungary are the only remaining EU member states still receiving oil from Russia. The other 25 stopped buying it as part of EU sanctions following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.