EU, France, Germany slam US visa bans as 'censorship' row deepens

PARIS — The European Union, France and Germany condemned U.S. visa bans on European citizens combating online hate and disinformation, with Brussels saying on Wednesday it could "respond swiftly and decisively" against the "unjustified measures." U.S. President Donald Trump's administration imposed visa bans on Tuesday on five European citizens, including French former EU commissioner Thierry Breton, who it accuses of working to censor freedom of speech or unfairly target U.S. tech giants with overly burdensome regulation. A European Commission spokesperson said it "strongly condemns the U.S. decision," adding: "Freedom of expression is a fundamental right in Europe and a shared core value with the United States across the democratic world." EU fined Elon Musk's X this month The visa bans are likely to exacerbate growing divergences between Washington and some European capitals over issues including free speech, ‍defence, immigration, far-right politics, trade and the Russia-Ukraine war. They come just weeks after a U.S. National Security Strategy document warned Europe faced "civilizWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times