Rescuing the relationship with the US while defending European multilateralism. Friedrich Merz and Emmanuel Macron outlined goals at the geopolitical summit that seem to be mutually exclusive. Making them compatible is the great challenge on both sides of the Atlantic. The first day also served to talk about Ukraine, but without Secretary of State Marco Rubio, absent from the meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky.

First modification: 02/14/2026 - 00:38

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Promote rapprochement while marking distances. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz opened the Munich Security Conference with a speech in which he acknowledged that "a gap, a deep gap, has opened" in trust between Europe and the United States, but he did not consider efforts to repair it lost.

Merz was firm in highlighting that it has not been Europe that has promoted this rift, but it may be the one that takes the first step so that the former allies "repair and revive transatlantic trust together."

"The culture war of the MAGA movement in the United States is not ours," Merz said in his speech. "The freedom of speech ends here when this word turns against human dignity and the Constitution. And we do not believe in tariffs or protectionism, but in free trade."

Merz made it clear that Europe will continue to embark on agendas that Washington has discarded, such as climate agreements and support for the World Health Organization, and insisted on the goal of being “stronger together.”

"In the era of rivalry between great powers, not even the United States will be powerful enough to act alone," said the German chancellor, who also called for the construction of a European nuclear shield.

"We are not doing it by writing off NATO. We are doing it by building a strong and self-sufficient European pillar within the alliance," he assured.

Both Merz and the leaders with whom he met in a trilateral meeting after the summit was held, Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, agreed on the mea culpa so demanded by Washington: the recognition of Europe's responsibility for its own security.

According to an official bulletin from Downing Street, the official residence of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Europe "must step up and do more to share that burden - in reference to security and defense - while protecting the enduring strength of the Euro-Atlantic coalition."

"We must leverage our enormous defense capabilities to enhance our shared security and deliver for the citizens of our countries," Starmer added.

Macron, for his part, called for Europe to become a "geopolitical power" and asked to step on the accelerator in the areas of defense, technology and "reduce risks vis-à-vis all the great powers to be much more independent."

In this matter, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, highlighted the leap that the European Union has taken in the last year through the mobilization of funds destined for Defense.

"Last year we did more for Defense in Europe than in the previous ten years. If we look at the last seven-year budget, 8 billion euros were allocated to Defense. Last year, we mobilized 800 billion euros for European Defense so that we can close the gaps we have," he indicated in a speech, during the opening of the conference.

Read also Why is the Munich Security Conference key in world geopolitics?

A more European NATO

The new reality poses a redesigned role for NATO, as agreed by its Secretary General, Mark Rutte, and the three leaders gathered on the first day of the world geopolitical summit.

Rutte summarized the “change in mentality” in a greater role for the Old Continent in the Atlantic alliance: "Europe really taking a step forward, Europe assuming more of a leadership role within NATO, Europe also taking more care of its own defense."

The United States spent the first day between the search for harmony by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who highlighted that his country is “closely linked to Europe,” and the injection of reality by the ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz.

The diplomat pointed out that his country had borne the financial burden of multilateralism for too long and that it was Europe's turn. "There is a cost to the status quo and the status quo was no longer sustainable," Waltz said.

An example of the spirit that prevailed among the European leaders was Merz's joke when he posed for the official photo with Macron and Starmer with a flag of the European Union and told the British that he hoped it would not bother him, alluding to Brexit.

"There is no British security without European security. There is no European security without British security. So we have to work together," Starmer replied.

Macron also took a stand for Brussels, stating that "the European Union is not an old-fashioned construction."

"Everyone should be inspired by our model, instead of criticizing us incessantly and trying to divide us," he added.

Read alsoMunich Security Conference without Trump: the definitive break between the US and Europe?

Ukraine remains in the center

The war in Ukraine focused much of the attention on this first day, which not only took a look at the current situation, but also at the future that this conflict will mark for the world.

Macron called on Western countries not to let their guard down regarding Russia, even after the invasion was resolved. "We must show strength and tenacity regarding Ukraine," said the French president. "This is the right time for boldness. This is the right time for a strong Europe."

For his part, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrei Sibiga said in a colloquium about his country that he hoped that several European partners and other allied countries would deploy troops to their territory once the war ends, to dissuade Russia from future incursions.

The unexpected moment of the day occurred in the meeting of President Volodímir Zelensky with several of the leaders present in Munich, including Starmer, Macron and Merz, since Secretary of State Rubio did not join.

A US official who spoke on condition of anonymity to the AP agency noted that Rubio planned to address the war in Ukraine in other meetings.

Read alsoMunich 2026: Ukraine, Greenland and NATO focus the security agenda

Meeting point for Greenland

The person Rubio did sit down to talk with was the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, with whom the White House has maintained increasingly tense relations in relation to Donald Trump's desires for Greenland.

Also present at the meeting was Jens-Frederik Nielsen, prime minister of the Arctic island under Danish sovereignty.

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Read alsoRussia warns of military measures if Greenland is militarized; NATO launches security mission in the Arctic

With EFE, Reuters and AP

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