US Vice President JD Vance launched a withering attack Friday against European policies on immigration, populist parties and free speech, echoing President Donald Trump whom he called Washington's "new sheriff in town".
Vance's speech -- which focussed on key themes of Trump's election campaign -- was a combative broadside at the Munich Security Conference at a time of transatlantic discord over Ukraine, defence and trade.
Vance stressed that Europe must "step up" in managing its own security, a key bone of contention. But he mostly lambasted the EU's members on culture war issues.
"There is a new sheriff in town under Donald Trump's leadership," said Vance in a speech that stunned the room, and was later condemned as "unacceptable" by German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius.
Vance slammed EU "commissars" for stifling free expression and charged that "across Europe, free speech, I fear, is in retreat".
Trump, speaking in Washington, doubled down on Vance's attack on traditional US allies.
"I heard his speech. He talked about freedom of speech. And I think it's true in Europe," the president told reporters at the White House. "They're losing their wonderful right of freedom of speech.
"And he talked about immigration, and Europe has a big immigration problem."
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had earlier made clear that Berlin's relationship with Washington had sharply deteriorated since Trump's return.
"The new American administration has a very different world view to ours," Steinmeier said. "One that has no regard for established rules, partnership and established trust."
- Immigration -
The German head of state urged European leaders to keep calm in the face of a blizzard of disruptive policy announcements from Washington.
"We must not freeze in fear, or as the English saying goes: Let's not be a deer caught in the headlights."
Vance, undeterred, in a later speech urged European countries, including conference host Germany, which faces elections on February 23, to "change course" on immigration.
His remarks came a day after a 24-year-old Afghan man was arrested in Munich over a car-ramming attack that wounded 36 people.
"How many times must we suffer these appalling setbacks before we change course and take our shared civilisation in a new direction?" he 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.
"An asylum seeker, often a young man in his mid-20s already known to police, rams a car into a crowd and shatters a community."
Defending political parties that oppose immigration and their supporters, Vance added: "No voter on this continent went to the ballot box to open the floodgates to millions of unvetted immigrants."
- 'Meddling' -
Germany warned Friday against foreign "meddling" in its politics after Vance also called for a bigger role for Europe's anti-immigration parties, nine days before the German general election.
Vance told the Wall Street Journal: "Unfortunately, the will of voters has been ignored by a lot of our European friends."
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) looks set for its best-ever result of around 20 percent in the election and has received enthusiastic backing from tech billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk.
Vance met on the sidelines of the conference with AfD leader Alice Weidel, according to German press.
Vance additionally warned Germany to get used to Musk weighing in, just as the United States tolerated criticism by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
"If American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg's scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk," he said.
Pistorius blasted Vance, saying "democracy was called into question by the US vice president for the whole of Europe".
"He is comparing conditions in parts of Europe with those in authoritarian regimes... that is not acceptable."
Vance tells Zelensky US wants 'lasting' peace
US Vice President JD Vance pledged Friday that Washington sought to secure a "lasting" peace as he held a first meeting with Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss Donald Trump's push for a deal with Moscow.
The talks in Munich were seen as a key moment for Kyiv as it tries to keep Washington on its side after Trump stunned allies by announcing truce efforts with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
"We want to achieve a durable, lasting peace, not the kind of peace that's going to have Eastern Europe in conflict just a couple years down the road," Vance said as the meeting wrapped up.
He said "good conversations" had been had with Zelensky about how they could reach that goal, and they would have more talks "in the days, weeks and months to come".
Zelensky also hailed a "good conversation", saying the encounter with Vance was "our first meeting, not last, I'm sure".
"We are ready to move as quickly as possible towards a real and guaranteed peace," Zelensky later wrote on X, adding that an envoy from Washington would visit Kyiv.
Trump rattled Ukraine and its European allies on Wednesday by agreeing to launch ceasefire talks in his first publicly announced call with Putin since returning to office.
The dramatic thaw in relations sparked fears Ukraine could be left out in the cold after nearly three years battling Moscow's invasion.
"We will have low, low chance to survive without support of the United States," Zelensky said in a clip from an NBC interview, which will be aired on full Sunday.
US officials have insisted that Zelensky will be involved in negotiations -- and the Ukrainian leader said he would be prepared to sit down with Putin after agreeing a "common plan" with Trump.
Vance said ahead of the meeting that the United States was prepared to pressure Russia, adding that Europe should "of course" be at the table.
But he also told Europe to "step up" bolstering its own defence to allow Washington to focus on threats elsewhere in the world.
- Trump's phone number -
US officials have sent mixed messages over Washington's strategy after Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth appeared to rule out Ukraine joining NATO or retaking all of its territory.
That has sparked major worries in Kyiv and Europe that Ukraine could be forced into a bad deal that leaves the continent facing an emboldened Putin.
But Vance told the Wall Street Journal that Trump would put everything "on the table" in potential talks, and that Washington could even use "military leverage" against Russia to force a deal.
He did not give more away in a keenly awaited keynote speech, which mostly focused on scolding Europe over immigration and free speech.
Saudi Arabia, after being named by Trump as a likely venue for a meeting with Putin, said it would welcome holding any talks between the two leaders.
Zelensky appeared to play down fears that Trump was cutting out Kyiv, saying the US president had given him his personal number when they spoke.
European allies, who along with Washington are Ukraine's strongest backers, demanded they be included in negotiations that will impact their continent's security.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he assured Zelensky that it is "Ukrainians alone who can drive the discussions for a solid and lasting peace" with Russia.
Zelensky said he had discussed with Macron "many important issues, including security guarantees and specific proposals from France".
In a bid to keep Washington close, Kyiv has held talks over granting access to its rare mineral deposits in return for future US security support.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen warned that forcing Ukraine into a bad deal would harm US interests.
"I believe that by working together, we can deliver that just and lasting peace," she said.
- Chernobyl strike -
While Europe nervously monitors the US stance on Ukraine, there is little ambiguity on Trump's determination to get Europe to spend more on its defence.
Fears that Vance could announce a major US troop reduction in Europe did not materialise, but he repeated warnings that Washington needed to focus more on other parts of the globe.
On the sidelines of the conference, Vance also met with leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), Alice Weidel, according to German press.
It comes as Vance criticised Germany for blocking the far right from possibly sharing power in upcoming elections.
The conservative candidate and poll favourite Friedrich Merz insists he would not govern with the AfD or actively seek its support.
Amid the diplomatic flurry in Munich, Zelensky said that back on the ground in Ukraine a Russian drone had struck a cover built to contain radiation at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, though he added that radiation levels were normal.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 133 drones across the country overnight, including attack drones, targeting northern regions of the country where the Chernobyl plant lies.
Zelensky said the attack was evidence that "Putin is definitely not preparing for negotiations -- he is preparing to continue deceiving the world".