EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas responded on Sunday to what she called "attacks against Europe" during a speech at the Munich Security Conference. Although he welcomed the message of unity expressed by the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, at the annual meeting, he dismissed the Trump administration's statements about a supposed “civilizational eradication” of the continent.

First modification: 02/15/2026 - 14:11 Last modification: 02/15/2026 - 18:00

The top diplomat of the European Union, Kaja Kallas, rejected on Sunday the "criticism against Europe" coming from the United States.

"Contrary to what some may say, 'decadent and woke Europe' does not face a disappearance of civilization," Kallas said on the final day of the Munich Security Conference.

On Saturday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reassured allies that Washington and Europe "belong to each other" but insisted that the continent must defend itself against mass immigration to protect its "civilization."

"The message we heard is that the United States and Europe are intertwined, they were in the past and they will be in the future. I think that's important," Kallas said.

However, he added: "It is also clear that we do not agree on all issues, and that will continue to be the case."

During the Trump era, American officials have conveyed their fears about immigration to Europe, frequently resorting to the language of the so-called "replacement theory," an idea promoted by a French novelist that has become a slogan of the global far-right.

In a National Security Strategy document published on December 5, the US administration warned of "European migration policies that are transforming the continent and generating tensions." "If current trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less," the text predicted.

Europeans "were shocked to read that they were participating in an 'eradication of civilization,'" French newspaper Le Monde wrote at the time.

The US document also warned about alleged "censorship of freedom of expression and suppression of political opposition" in Europe, despite the fact that European countries occupy the top 15 positions in Reporters Without Borders' 2025 World Press Freedom Index, while the United States fell to 57th place, its lowest level in history.

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Russia is "broken"

Kallas further stated that Russia must be forced to make concessions in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

"Let's be clear about Russia. Russia is not a superpower," Kallas said, insisting that the country is "broken."

"The biggest threat posed by Russia right now is that it will achieve more at the negotiating table than it has achieved on the battlefield."

The annual security meeting in Munich has been marked by the message from European leaders that the continent must take the lead in its own defense against an aggressive Russia and in the face of doubts about the reliability of the United States as President Donald Trump reconfigures transatlantic relations.

"There is an urgent need to recover European capacity for action," declared Kallas.

He noted that European defense "starts in Ukraine" and will depend on how the war ends. The diplomat called for limiting the size of the Russian army, stressed that Moscow must pay for the damage caused and must be held accountable for war crimes.

French Minister for European Affairs Benjamin Haddad said there is no time to lose in strengthening European independence and that the continent should pay less attention to the statements of American officials and focus on strengthening its own capabilities.

"I think the worst lesson we could take from this weekend would be to say, well, I'm holding on to some kind words I heard in part of his speech and hitting the snooze button," Haddad said of Rubio's intervention.

Instead, he added, Europeans should "focus on what we can control, on our rearmament, on support for Ukraine and on the threat that Russia represents to all our democracies."

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