'Europe Must Survive': Rubio Suggested That The EU Should Work Together To Solve Problematic Issues
- 15.02.2026, 14:59
The U.S. Secretary of State has declared a revival of the transatlantic era.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking at the Munich Security Conference, urged Europe to work with Washington to tackle mass migration, deindustrialization and "climate sectarianism," stressing the need for Europe to survive as part of a shared Western civilization.
As Bild writes, Rubio sharply criticized the West's energy policies of recent years, saying that "to propitiate the climate sect, we have imposed on ourselves an energy policy that impoverishes our peoples." According to the State Department chief, the deindustrialization of Europe was the result of the "foolish" illusion of the postwar era, when it was believed that trade and global order would replace national interests and identity. He called mass migration a crisis that is "transforming and destabilizing societies across the West."
The secretary of state noted, "We made these mistakes together," and recalled the common roots and history of the United States and Europe. That, he said, is why Americans care so deeply about Europe. "Europe must survive," he said, suggesting that "we must move forward - toward recovery." Rubio also assured that rumors of the end of the transatlantic era are premature. "For us Americans, our home may be in the Western Hemisphere, but we will always be the children of Europe," he said.
As the Financial Times points out, Rubio's speech stands in stark contrast to remarks made by US Vice President Jay Dee Vance at the forum last year. Conference chairman Wolfgang Ischinger called Rubio's message "a sigh of relief in this room."
The reaction to the speech, however, has been mixed. Political analyst Pia Furhop of the German think tank SWP called the speech a "poisoned gift," an attempt to drag Europe into a MAGA mentality. A German diplomat speaking to the FT noted that the speech was aimed more at a US domestic audience "than at us". Another European official pointed out that there was not a word about Russia or Ukraine in the speech. "Rubio still believes in NATO, but we Europeans will not unleash American culture wars," Bundestag deputy Jurgen Hardt emphasized.
Politico, citing the opinion of European officials, writes that the US signal in Munich was unambiguous: "Join or we will go our own way." In addition, according to the publication, in a closed-door meeting, U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Elbridge Colby said that the United States shares interests but not values with Europe, emphasizing a shift to an interest-based world.