European leaders, institutions, and senior officials on Wednesday sharply criticized US visa restrictions imposed on five European figures, including former European Commissioner Thierry Breton, denouncing the measures as intimidation and an attack on Europe's right to regulate its digital space.
The visa restrictions were announced Tuesday by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who accused the individuals of leading organized efforts to coerce platforms into censoring "American viewpoints."
French President Emmanuel Macron said the restrictions amounted to "intimidation and coercion" aimed at undermining Europe's digital sovereignty.
He stressed that the EU's digital rules were adopted through a "democratic and sovereign process" by the European Parliament and the Council and apply only within Europe. "The rules governing the European Union's digital space are not meant to be determined outside Europe," Macron said.
The president also said through US social media company X that he had spoken directly with Breton: "I have just spoken with Thierry Breton and thanked him for his significant contributions in the service of Europe. We will stand firm against pressure and will protect Europeans."
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said France "strongly condemns" the visa restrictions, insisting that the Digital Services Act (DSA) was "democratically adopted" and has "absolutely no extraterritorial reach."
"The peoples of Europe are free and sovereign and cannot let the rules governing their digital space be imposed by others upon them," he added.
The European Commission also "strongly condemned" the US decision, describing freedom of expression as a "fundamental European right and a shared core value with the United States." The commission said the EU is an open, rules-based single market with the sovereign authority to regulate economic activity, and warned it would respond "swiftly and decisively" if needed to defend its regulatory autonomy.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, for his part, criticized the entry bans affecting the managing directors of HateAid, saying the DSA ensures "that everything that is illegal offline is also illegal online" and was democratically adopted without extraterritorial effect.
German NGO HateAid's two executives, Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, described the move as "an act of repression," while German Parliament Vice President Omid Nouripour called for the "immediate summoning of the charge d'affaires of the US Embassy."
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said imposing a travel ban on officials for doing their job was "unacceptable" and should be "rescinded quickly."
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said Belgium was dismayed by the restrictions, calling sanctions based on "economic frustration experienced in the US" unacceptable and stressing that Europe would retain the sovereign right to protect its values.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the decision was "unacceptable and an attempt to challenge our sovereignty," adding that Europe would continue defending freedom of expression and fair digital rules.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said freedom of speech is "the foundation of our strong and vibrant European democracy," adding: "We are proud of it. We will protect it."
