"The threat that I worry the most about vis-a-vis Europe is not Russia, it's not China, it's not any other external actor," said Vance. "What I worry about is the threat from within. The retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values – values shared with the United States of America."

As evidence of this, he criticized the annulment of what he saw as a wholly legitimate presidential election in Romania (it was declared invalid by the Romanian constitutional court), denounced the ban in the UK on anti-abortion protesters demonstrating directly outside clinics, and condemned the exclusion of extremist parties from the political process.

"Free speech, I fear, is in retreat," said Vance. "What has seemed a little bit less clear to me, and certainly I think to many of the citizens of Europe, is what exactly it is that you're defending yourselves for? What is the positive vision that animates this shared security compact that we all believe is so important?" asked Vance, as the majority of his EUan allies stared at him in dismay.

The longer the U.S. vice president's speech went on, the clearer it became that the transatlantic disagreement is no longer "just" about the world's crisis zones or the fair sharing of the burden. The rift between the U.S. and its EUan partners is much more fundamental.