Trump moves to pull Italy and Hungary away from Europe

 The Trump administration intends to pull Hungary and Italy away from the European Union (EU), according to a leaked copy of the US National Security Strategy (NSS).

The official NSS released last week warned that Europe faced “civilisational erasure” if it did not cut migration and would be “unrecognisable in 20 years or less” if present trends continued.

But a longer version of the strategy, which was reportedly circulated before the White House unclassified the 29-page document, is more explicit about how the US can “Make Europe Great Again”.

The White House denied the longer version existed, calling reports “fake news”.

The NSS proposes that the US work on fostering relationships with European countries aligned with the Trump administration, according to Defence One.

The document reportedly lists Italy, Hungary, Poland and Austria as countries the US should “work more with... the goal of pulling them away from the [European Union]”.

Mr Trump has made no secret of his affection for Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s conservative prime minister.

He described his Italian counterpart as a “fantastic woman” who had “taken Europe by storm” when she visited Mar-a-Lago ahead of his inauguration.

He further extended his praise to the Brothers of Italy leader during her Oval Office visit in April and praised her as “beautiful” during the Middle East peace summit in Egypt in October.

The US president has also had a close relationship with Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister, having welcomed him to the White House last month. Mr Trump has endorsed Mr Orban before the Hungarian elections next year, describing him as “fantastic” and handing Hungary an exemption on sanctions for buying Russian oil and gas.

The longer NSS is also understood to note that the US “should support parties, movements, and intellectual and cultural figures who seek sovereignty and preservation/restoration of traditional European ways of life…while remaining pro-American”.

This appears to build on the official document’s focus on trying to “cultivate resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations”, eyeing potential allies in the “growing influence of patriotic European parties”.

The parties are left unnamed but presumed to include Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in France, Vox in Spain, Reform in the UK, the AfD in Germany and Ms Meloni’s Brothers of Italy.

Mr Trump this week condemned European leaders as “weak” for failing to end the war in Ukraine, and accused them of presiding over a “decaying” continent, diminished by illegal migration and political correctness.

On Tuesday, Pope Leo XIV criticised the White House’s effort to “break apart” the US-European alliance.

Speaking to reporters after meeting Volodymyr Zelensky, the American Pope was asked about the US peace proposal and the seeming sidelining of European powers.

“Seeking a peace agreement without including Europe in the talks is unrealistic, given the war is in Europe,” he said.

“Guarantees are also being sought for security today and in the future. Europe must be part of this, and unfortunately, not everyone understands this, but I think there is a great opportunity for European leaders to unite and seek a solution together.”

Appearing to comment on the Trump administration’s views on the US-Europe alliance, the Pope said what he had read would “make a huge change in what was for many, many years a true alliance between Europe and the United States”.

He said some comments from Mr Trump suggest “trying to break apart what I think needs to be an alliance today and in the future”.

As the US president’s frustrations with Europe become more apparent, on Wednesday the House prepared to vote on the National Defence Authorisation Act, which would help limit how far US military presence on the continent can be pared back without Congressional approval.

The leaked version of the NSS also reportedly called for the creation of a new body of powers called the “Core 5”, which would be made up of the US, China, Russia, India and Japan.

Anna Kelly, a White House spokesman, said reports of the longer NSS were “fake news”.

“No alternative, private, or classified version exists. President Trump is transparent and put his signature on one NSS that clearly instructs the US government to execute on his defined principles and priorities,” she told The Telegraph.

“Any other so-called ‘versions’ are leaked by people distant from the president who... have no idea what they are talking about.”