Europe Asia News

Former Danish Defence Minister Thomas Ahrenkiel stated that smaller countries are now “looking at a world governed more by the law of the jungle than by a rules-based international order”.

The report notes that the United States “is increasingly using its economic and technological power as a tool of influence, including toward its allies and partners”.

Ahrenkiel told Berlingske that the current threat environment “is the most serious since the end of the Cold War”.

Alongside the United States, Russia and China are also mentioned as threats to Denmark’s security.

TV 2 defence correspondent Anders Lomholdt said this indicates how seriously the statements made by U.S. President Donald Trump over the past ten months are being taken.

“This is a major foreign policy crisis. The threat assessment clearly states that when it comes to external threats, the U.S. is mentioned on the same line and in the same sentence as China and Russia,” he said.

The report also states that the U.S. “uses its economic and technological power as a pressure tool even against its allies and partners”.

The U.S. also unveiled its new national security strategy last week, which created significant reaction as it argues that Europe is in such poor condition that it must change direction urgently.

According to the strategy, Europe is a place where “freedom of expression and political freedoms are under pressure”, where people “are losing their national identity and confidence”, and where political inertia on migration is causing deep divisions.

Despite criticism, the U.S. still considers Europe an ally.