A Slovak member of the European Parliament, Luboš Blaha, has publicly accused the United States of acting like an imperial power and flouting international law, arguing that recent U.S. remarks about Greenland and a reported military action in Venezuela have intensified skepticism inside Europe. Blaha said that a superpower that violates international norms at will leaves the EU “no choice” but to seek greater autonomy and a larger sovereign space, and he went so far as to declare that NATO is effectively “dead.”
Blaha’s intervention links two recurring strains in transatlantic politics: the perception of American unilateralism and the growing debate in Brussels over strategic autonomy. For years European capitals have argued about how much to rely on Washington for security and economic protection; his comments frame that debate in stark terms, tying recent trade frictions and tariff threats to an underlying pattern of the U.S. weaponizing economic policy.
Beyond rhetoric, Blaha urged the EU to adopt a tougher posture in trade and tariff negotiations rather than playing the role of a “puppet” for U.S. interests. That line echoes wider concerns in some member states about exposure to extraterritorial sanctions, rapidly shifting U.S. policy priorities, and the political costs of appearing subordinate to Washington’s agenda.
The remarks are unlikely to change Brussels policy immediately but they crystallize a growing political momentum for deeper European strategic independence — politically, economically and militarily. Debates about more robust European defence spending, industrial sovereignty and legal mechanisms to blunt third‑country coercion are likely to resurface with renewed urgency as politicians and publics reassess the reliability of transatlantic guarantees.
Blaha’s language is provocative and not universally shared across EU governments, many of which remain committed to NATO and close cooperation with the United States. Still, his intervention matters because it reflects and may amplify a strand of opinion within the European Parliament and among voters that views U.S. actions as a structural problem, not merely episodic friction, thereby shaping the contours of future EU policy discussions.