VIENNA — Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen warned Monday that the world has entered a new and more dangerous era, citing recent U.S. military actions in Venezuela and renewed rhetoric from President Donald Trump about annexing Greenland as signs of a shifting global order driven by power rather than law.
In a statement posted on social media, Van der Bellen said recent events had made one reality unmistakably clear. “We have now arrived in the reality of a new world order, in which the arbitrariness of the stronger increasingly prevails,” he wrote. He argued that only a united and resilient Europe could withstand these forces, urging closer cooperation among European nations.
The Austrian president stressed that Austria and the European Union must work to defend international relations grounded in international law and the principles of the United Nations Charter. “We must now do everything possible to insist on these foundations,” he said, framing the moment as a test of Europe’s political maturity and resolve.
Van der Bellen echoed themes from his New Year’s address, in which he called for the development of a renewed “European patriotism.” He urged citizens not to allow skepticism or external pressure to erode faith in the European project. “Our Europe is a place envied by many, very many people,” he said. “Let us not allow this Europe to be spoken down. It is important that we continue to believe in the European idea.”
His remarks followed a dramatic U.S. military operation over the weekend in which American forces launched airstrikes across Venezuela, targeting military bases, airfields, communications hubs, and ports. During the operation, Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured and flown to the United States.
Maduro is now expected to stand trial in New York on charges including conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism and cocaine trafficking into the United States. U.S. television footage showed him being transported to court in Brooklyn in handcuffs, escorted by heavily armed security personnel.
For Van der Bellen, the images underscored a stark message: global politics has entered a new phase one, he warned, that demands a strong, united Europe capable of defending its values and sovereignty.
