German chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday urged the United States and Europe to “repair and revive trans-Atlantic trust together,” warning that in an era of intensifying great-power rivalry, “even the United States will not be powerful enough to go it alone.” Opening the annual Munich Security Conference, Merz acknowledged that “a divide, a deep rift” has opened across the Atlantic and called for a “new trans-Atlantic partnership.” The gathering brings together senior global security officials, including European leaders and US secretary of state Marco Rubio, reported AP.
Shadow of last year’s tensions
At last year’s conference, held weeks into US President Donald Trump’s second term, US vice president JD Vance drew sharp reactions from European leaders after criticising the state of democracy and free speech in Europe – an episode that set the tone for a year marked by friction.Subsequently, the Trump administration made a series of moves affecting allies, including a threat to impose tariffs on several European countries as part of a bid to secure US control of Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of Denmark and a NATO ally. The threat was later dropped.
‘Stronger together’ within NATO
Addressing the conference, Merz distanced Europe from US domestic political debates. “The culture war of the MAGA movement in the US is not ours,” he said. “The freedom of the word ends here when this word is turned against human dignity and the constitution. And we don’t believe in tariffs and protectionism, but in free trade.” He added that Europe would continue to back climate agreements and the World Health Organization “because we are convinced that we will only solve global tasks together.” At the same time, Merz emphasised the importance of the trans-Atlantic alliance. “In the era of great-power rivalry, even the United States will not be powerful enough to go it alone,” he said. “Dear friends, being a part of NATO is not only Europe’s competitive advantage. It’s also the United States’ competitive advantage, so let’s repair and revive trans-Atlantic trust together.” Merz said Europe was responding to US pressure for higher defence spending. Since last year’s conference, NATO allies have agreed to significantly raise their defence spending targets. Mark Rutte said there had been a “shift in mindset,” with “Europe really stepping up, Europe taking more of a leadership role within NATO, Europe also taking more care of its own defense.”
Rubio signals ‘new era’ in geopolitics
Introducing Merz, conference chairman Wolfgang Ischinger posed a pointed question: “does the Trump administration truly believe that it needs allies and partners and if so … is Washington actually prepared to treat allies as partners?”Ahead of his arrival in Munich, Rubio described Europe as vital for the US. “We’re very tightly linked together with Europe,” he said. “Most people in this country can trace both, either their culture or their personal heritage, back to Europe. So, we just have to talk about that.”However, he added: “We live in a new era in geopolitics, and it’s going to require all of us to reexamine what that looks like.” Rubio arrived in Munich on Friday and met Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on the sidelines. He is also scheduled to meet Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, and is due to address the conference on Saturday.
Europe seeks stronger pillar within alliance
Merz acknowledged that Europe’s “excessive dependency” on the US was “its own fault” but said the continent was moving beyond that. “We won’t do this by writing off NATO – we will do it by building a strong, self-supporting European pillar in the alliance, in our own interest.”While differences between Washington and European capitals may persist, he said, managing them with “new strength, respect and self-respect” would benefit both sides.
