US Secretary of State Marco Rubio adopted a friendly and conciliatory tone when discussing relations between Washington and Europe during his speech at the Munich Security Conference, this Saturday (14).
According to Rubio, previous criticisms were aimed at boosting and strengthening transatlantic ties, in a reference to the participation of American Vice President, JD Vance, a year ago at the same event, when he harshly criticized European values.
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At the opening of the Conference, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on the United States and Europe to “repair and revive transatlantic trust together”, noting that not even the Americans are strong enough to act alone in a world whose old order has deteriorated.
In his appearance today, Rubio said that the “euphoria” of Western victory in the Cold War created the “dangerous illusion that we had entered the end of history, that every nation would now be a liberal democracy, that ties formed solely by trade and business would replace nationality, and that we would live in a world without borders in which everyone would become a citizen of the world.”
With a less combative stance than Vance’s last year, the secretary admitted that current President Donald Trump’s government has been direct in exposing its positions, but made it clear that there will be no back down.
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“We made these mistakes together and now together we owe it to our people to confront them and move forward to rebuild relationships,” Rubio said.
“Under President Trump’s administration, the United States will once again take on the task of renewal and restoration,” the secretary added.
He further stressed that “at a time when headlines announce the end of the transatlantic era, let it be clear to everyone that this is neither our goal nor our desire.”
