Macron (left) defended Europe as model for the world during a speech at the Munich Security Conference – Image: Kay Nietfeld/REUTERS
During his speech at the Munich Security Conference (MSC), France’s president said Europeans should be more proud of the continent’s achievements. Meanwhile, Germany’s Merz rejected the MAGA “culture war.”
What you need to know
- France’s Macron says world should view Europe as a model during speech at 2026 Munich Security Conference (MSC)
- Macron called on Europe to not cave into Russia’s demands
- Earlier, the MSC kicked off with a speech from Friedrich Merz urging a new trans-Atlantic partnership
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio is representing the United States
- California Governor Gavin Newsom says Trump climate policy is ‘temporary’
What happened at the MSC on Friday?
The Munich Security Conference kicked off on Friday with a speech by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who did not hold back in calling out a growing “rift” between Europe and the United States under President Donald Trump.
Merz said the post-World War II order, which had been shaped by US supremacy and Europe enjoying a “vacation from world history” under Washington’s security umbrella, has come to an end.
He said Europe can come together and shape a new order.
“We are not at the mercy of this world, we can shape it,” Merz said, arguing that Europeans can do so if they “step up together with determination and confidence in our own strengths.”
Germany’s chancellor did not mince words during his opening speech at the Munich Security Conference – Image: dts-Agentur/picture alliance
At the same time Merz said the US and Europe need to “repair and revive trans-Atlantic trust together,” while pointing out that the US “claim to leadership has been challenged, and possibly lost,” warning of the rise of Russia and China.
“Merz’s pointed analysis of how isolated Trump’s aggressive take on trade and security has left the US was so blunt that it sounded like an insult,” DW’s Chief Political Editor Michaela Kuefner said at the conference.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is representing the US at the conference, with a much-anticipated speech due for Saturday morning.
Before leaving for Munich, Rubio said ties between the US and Europe are facing a “defining moment.”
“The old world is gone, frankly, the world I grew up in, and we live in a new era in geopolitics, and it’s going to require all of us to re-examine what that looks like and what our role is going to be,” he said.
Rubio added that the US is “deeply tied to Europe, and our futures have always been linked and will continue to be. We’ve just got to talk about what that future looks like.”
Rubio met with Merz and a German delegation on Friday for closed door talks. The US top diplomat also met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
French President Emmanuel Macron closed out Friday’s MSC with a speech emphasizing Europe’s strengths, and urging Europeans not to “give in” to Russia’s demands and “exhibit strength and tenacity on Ukraine.”
“This is the right time for audacity. This is the right time for a strong Europe,” Macron said.
Kier Starmer arrived at the Munich Security Conference on Friday and will deliver his speech on Saturday – Image: Stefan Rousseau/empics/picture alliance
UK’s Starmer to call for closer UK-EU defense partnership
British Prime Minister Kier Starmer will call for deeper ties between the UK and the EU in his speech at the MSC on Saturday, according to notes released ahead of time by his office.
“We are not the Britain of the Brexit years anymore. Because we know that, in dangerous times, we would not take control by turning inward — we would surrender it. And I won’t let that happen,” Starmer is expected to say on Saturday.
“There is no British security without Europe, and no European security without Britain. That is the lesson of history — and it is today’s reality too.”
In his speech, Starmer will argue that European countries must shift away from being overdependent on the US for security, including with in the NATO alliance. He will call on European leaders to work together to build up “sovereign deterrence and hard power.”
“As I see it — Europe is a sleeping giant. Our economies dwarf Russia’s, ten times over,” the excerpt of Starmer’s speech read.
“We have huge defense capabilities. Yet, too often, all of this has added up to less than the sum of its parts.”
“Across Europe, fragmented industrial planning and long, drawn out procurement mechanisms have led to gaps in some areas — and massive duplication in others.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with the disqualified Winter Olympian on the sidelines of the MSC – Image: Alexandra Beier/AFP
Zelenskyy awards Order of Freedom to disqualified Ukrainian athlete
Ukrainian athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych visited Munich on Friday night after he was disqualified from competing in the men’s skeleton race event at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Heraskevych had worn a helmet featuring Ukrainian athletes who have been killed since the 2022 Russian invasion. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled on Friday that this violated Article 50 of the Olympic Charter which bans “political, religious or racial propaganda” at the event.
In Munich, Heraskevych was received by Ukrainian delegates on the sidelines of the MSC along with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who awarded him the Order of Freedom.
“Ukraine will always have champions and Olympians,” Zelenskyy said on social media.
“But above all, Ukraine’s greatest asset is Ukrainians – those who cherish the truth and the memory of the athletes killed by Russia, athletes who will never compete again because of the Russian aggression.”
DW.com/NAN 14-2-26
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