US Defence Secretary Attacks Europe's Migration Response

During a speech marking the D-Day anniversary, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth accused European capitals of growing too 'comfortable' with migrant arrivals on their beaches. The BBC reported that Hegseth singled out Spain, Italy, Greece and Bulgaria as examples of nations failing to secure their borders. The remarks signal a sharp rhetorical shift from Washington toward Europe's handling of Mediterranean migration, a core foreign-policy tension within the NATO alliance.

The timing of the criticism—delivered at a ceremony honouring the 1944 invasion of Normandy—carries symbolic weight. Hegseth framed migration as a security threat comparable to a military invasion, language that elevates the issue beyond immigration policy into the realm of national defence. European officials have not yet responded formally to the comments, but the speech reflects deepening divisions between the US administration and EU capitals over migration strategy and border control.