Marco Rubio called on Europeans on Saturday in Munich to support Donald Trump's world vision, while pleading for a "revitalized" transatlantic alliance. Faced with tensions, the United States says it prefers to act with a “strong” Europe, rather than alone, but with an Old Continent aligned behind the values ​​of the American president.

Published on: 02/14/2026 - 04:11 Modified on: 02/15/2026 - 11:00

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Before the European heads of state gathered on Saturday, February 14, for the second day of the Munich Security Conference, Marco Rubio called on Europeans to get behind Donald Trump's vision of the world order, while advocating the revitalization of the link with a "strong" Europe.

The United States under Donald Trump is ready to lead the "restoration" of the world order, the US secretary of state has said.

The US official's highly anticipated speech, however, offered a stark contrast to Vice President JD Vance's incendiary speech last year to the same gathering. The latter had dismayed Europeans by asserting in particular that freedom of expression was "retreating" on the continent, espousing the views of far-right parties.

Marco Rubio assured him that the United States wanted “allies proud of their culture and their heritage, who understand that we are the heirs of the same great and noble civilization and who, with us, are ready and able to defend it”.

“A sigh of relief”

“We want Europe to be strong, we believe that Europe can survive,” he said again, while Donald Trump recently affirmed that the continent was threatened with “civilizational erasure”.

“We are not seeking to divide, but to revitalize an old friendship,” he clarified, adding that he wanted “a reinvigorated alliance”.

Also read: Munich Security Conference: Europe wants to set an example for the United States

The head of the conference, German Wolfgang Ischinger, said after the speech that he had heard "a sigh of relief" in the room.

But the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, notably said: "will this change our strategy? Of course not." “We will produce a strong and independent Europe, whatever interventions we hear at the Munich Conference,” he said.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, for his part, estimated that no one in Europe was seeking to "replace the American nuclear umbrella", after Germany announced that it was discussing its nuclear deterrence with France.

Despite a less offensive speech than that of JD Vance, Rubio took up themes dear to the American president such as "civilizational erasure" linked according to him to mass immigration or deindustrialization which threaten Europe and the United States.

“He is a slave to war”

Since his return to the White House in January 2025, Donald Trump has attacked the model of European liberal democracies, courting the European far right.

Separately, the US official reiterated the Trump administration's position that the UN has played "virtually no role" in conflict resolution and called for reform of global institutions.

Regarding the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Rubio said he did not know "whether the Russians are serious about ending the war."

Donald Trump called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday to “move on” to reach an agreement with Russia, before new negotiations next week in Geneva.

Also read: How the Munich Security Conference became the forum for global divisions

At the Munich podium on Saturday, Volodymyr Zelensky hoped that these discussions “will be serious and substantial”.

But according to him, "the Americans often return to the question of concessions, and too often these concessions are discussed only in the context of Ukraine, not of Russia."

The Ukrainian president also said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin "cannot bring himself to abandon the very idea of ​​war." “He is a slave to war,” he judged.

Volodymyr Zelensky, who met Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the conference, also regretted the absence of European allies in the negotiations, "a big mistake", according to him.

“Help” the Iranian people

For her part, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, once again pleaded for an “independent” and “strong” Europe.

According to her, “Europe must move up a gear”. She notably mentioned the use of the "mutual defense clause", a collective commitment by EU member countries to defend themselves in the event of aggression.

Following suit, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: "Let's multiply our strengths and build a common industrial base across Europe."

Also speaking at the Munich podium on Saturday, the exiled son of the deposed shah, Reza Pahlavi, called on Donald Trump to “help” the Iranian people to overthrow the Islamic Republic.

See alsoExclusive: Iran, the massacred revolt

Around 250,000 people gathered in Munich on Saturday afternoon against the Iranian authorities. In front of the demonstrators, Reza Pahlavi said he was ready to lead the “transition” towards a “democratic and secular future” in Iran.

After Munich, Marco Rubio will travel to Slovakia on Sunday, led by a Trump ally. Then he will go to Hungary on Monday, to strengthen American support for Hungarian nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

With AFP

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