U.S. State Secretary Tells Munich Security Forum that U.S. and Europe Belong Together

AP

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave a message of unity to Europeans on Saturday, saying Washington does not intend to abandon the transatlantic alliance, but that Europe's leaders had made a number of policy mistakes and need to change course.

In a speech at a security conference in Munich on Saturday, Senator Rubio sought to reassure European audiences unsettled by a year of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats to the NATO alliance.

He emphasised Washington’s desire to work “together with you, our friends here in Europe”, describing “a sacred inheritance, an unbreakable link” that united the US and its European partners. 

“We belong together,” he said. “We are part of one civilisation, western civilisation. We are bound to one another by the deepest bonds that nations could share, forged by centuries of shared history, Christian faith, culture, heritage, language, ancestry and the sacrifices our forefathers made.”

If U.S. President Donald Trump “demands seriousness and reciprocity”, it was “because we care deeply”, he added.

Rubio's overall message of togetherness at the annual Munich Security Conference was relatively well-received by the gathering of European diplomats and security officials.

Even as Rubio at times needled European policymakers, his address contrasted sharply with Vice President JD Vance's address here a year ago, in which he argued that the greatest danger to the continent came from censorship and democratic backsliding - rather than external threats like Russia.

"In a time of headlines heralding the end of the transatlantic era, let it be known and clear to all that this is neither our goal nor our wish, because for us Americans, our home may be in the western hemisphere, but we will always be a child of Europe," Rubio told the crowd.

The address was notably short on specifics. Rubio did not mention Russia - the continent's main geopolitical foil - during the roughly half-hour address, nor did he even bring up NATO by name, the continent's main security bloc.

Rubio also said: “In a time of headlines heralding the end of the transatlantic era, let it be known and clear to all that this is neither our goal nor our wish, because for us Americans, our home may be in the western hemisphere, but we will always be a child of Europe.”

He lamented the outsourcing of American industry, the non-western dominance of critical supply chains and green energy policies that he said sought to “appease a climate cult” while “impoverishing our people”.

Above all, he stressed that Europe and the US faced the threat of mass migration and the prospect of “civilisation erasure”.

“National security . . . is not merely a series of technical questions,” he said. What exactly are we defending? . . . We are defending a great civilisation . . . Only if we are unapologetic in our heritage and proud of this common inheritance can we together begin the work of envisioning and shaping our economic and political future.”

“Mass migration . . . continues to be a crisis which is transforming and destabilising societies all across the west,” Rubio said.

But he insisted that this is “not an expression of xenophobia. It is not hate. It is a fundamental act of national sovereignty”.

Rubio also criticised the “welfare states” that he said Europe had pursued at the expense of funding its security.

“What we want is a reinvigorated alliance that recognises that what has ailed our societies is not just a set of bad policies, but a malaise of hopelessness and complacency,” Rubio said.



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