EU 'protects smaller states, not threatens them,' Commissioner Dombrovskis tells Euronews

The European Union gives smaller states strength in an increasingly hostile world, European Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told Euronews in an interview after a controversial US government document suggested the EU is crushing freedom.

"The EU provides strength for its members, especially for the smaller states, because in the current more conflictual, power-driven world, there is certainly strength in unity," he told Euronews' flagship morning show Europe Today.

Dombrovskis, who is one of the longest-serving Commissioners currently in his third term, hails from Latvia, one of the Baltic countries under threat from Russia.

His comments come after the US updated its National Security Strategy last week, suggesting that Europe must revert course or could see the demise of its civilisation as a result of poor economic policies, suffocating regulation and illegal migration.

The document said the US aims to reverse that trajectory and welcomed the growing influence of "European patriotic parties" without naming them, but broadly understood to be conservative or hard right.

Dombrovskis said there are many aspects "of the National Security Strategy that we disagree with, that is clear. .. but there are points that we can agree. We need to show more assertiveness" when it comes to Russia and support for Ukraine.

The way to show strength, the Commissioner said, is to secure funding for Kyiv so it can remain strong in the fight, as the US pulls back direct assistance.

Dombrovskis said next week's European Council meeting is "crunch time" to decide to either issue a reparations loan for Ukraine or tap markets for joint EU debt to the tune of €90 billion for 2026 and 2027.

Keeping Europe a matter for Europeans to decide on

European leaders have closed ranks after the US document was released.

On Monday, Costa pushed back too, saying "allies do not threaten to interfere in the political life or the internal democratic choices of other allies" and defending Europe's autonomy to choose its own path when setting policy.

"The United States cannot replace Europe to say what vision we have, and what is the freedom of expression," Costa said.

Over the weekend, Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, told Euronews in an interview that domestic issues are for the "EU to handle" and the two should focus on global challenges while leaving domestic matters to national governments.

Kallas recognised the US has a different view on a number of key subjects, but noted that the two remain allies. Still, the "EU has a plan, and we must follow it."

US President Donald Trump told reporters the US wants to keep Europe "Europe, we don't want it to change so much" when asked about the European reaction to the review.