U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio waves, next to Chairman of the Munich Security Conference Wolfgang Ischinger, as he gets a standing ovation after his speech at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Saturday.
Alex Brandon/AP
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Alex Brandon/AP
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday called to revitalize alliances between the United States and its European allies, at a time when President Trump’s aggressive, America First policies have inflamed tensions with some longtime partners.
In his speech at the Munich Security Conference, Rubio stressed to allies its shared history with America, calling the U.S. a “child of Europe.” He also reinforced the Trump administration’s rhetoric suggesting that Europe faces the prospect of “civilizational erasure” amid its immigration policies.
“We gather as members of a historic alliance that saved and changed the world,” Rubio told attendees.
“America was founded 250 years ago, but the roots began here on this continent long before. The men who settled and built the nation of my birth arrived on our shores carrying the memories and the traditions and the Christian faith of their ancestors as a sacred inheritance.”
Rubio described Europe as having grown complacent in the years since the fall of the Soviet Union, having allowed their military budgets to shrink, their jobs to be outsourced and immigration to threaten the “cohesion” of society, he said.
“We made these mistakes together. And now, together, we owe it to our people to face those facts and to move forward to rebuild,” Rubio said.
Overall, his speech was marked by a softer tone toward Europe than Trump has taken in recent months, with Trump criticizing them as “weak” and home to a “decaying” group of nations, as well as those made by his predecessor at last year’s conference. Vice President JD Vance, who pilloried European leaders for their efforts to combat hate speech and disinformation and for censoring right-wing views.
The secretary of state also downplayed concerns over the effects of climate change, even as many European nations have prioritized a shift to renewable energies.
Rubio also doubled down on the administration’s insistence that European allies should do more to provide for their own national security needs, rather than relying so heavily on the United States.
“We care deeply about your future and ours. And if at times we disagree, our disagreements come from our profound sense of concern about a Europe with which we are connected, not just economically, not just militarily. We are connected spiritually and we are connected culturally.”
“Under President Trump,” Rubio said, “the United States of America will once again take on the task of renewal and restoration, driven by a vision of a future as proud, as sovereign, and as vital as our civilization’s past. And while we are prepared, if necessary, to do this alone, it is our preference, and it is our hope to do this together with you, our friends here in Europe. For the United States and Europe, we belong together.”
European leaders react
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Union’s executive commission, said during a panel at the conference that she was “very much reassured” by Rubio’s speech.
“We know that in the administration, some have a harsher tone on these topics,” she said. “But the secretary of state was very clear: He said, ‘We want a strong Europe in the Alliance,’ and this is what we are working for intensively in the European Union.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that he agreed with Rubio in the sense that “we shouldn’t get in the warm bath of complacency.”
Starmer said that, post-Brexit, the U.K. should restrengthen ties with Europe to help the continent become more self-reliant in its defense, so that it can move “from overdependence to interdependence.”