MUNICH, Germany — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on European leaders to reject “managed decline,” tighten trans-Atlantic ties, and defend what he described as a shared Western civilization, in a forceful address to the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.
Rubio framed the United States and Europe not only as strategic partners but as “inheritors of a shared history, culture, and heritage,” urging allies to “revitalize” their societies and align with Washington in a renewed Western alliance under President Donald Trump’s foreign policy.
“Armies do not fight for abstractions. Armies fight for a people; armies fight for a nation. Armies fight for a way of life,” Rubio said.
“And that is what we are defending: a great civilization.”
He argued that Western nations must reindustrialize, rebuild defense capacity, and cooperate on emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, commercial space, and critical mineral supply chains.
“Together we can prosper in the areas that will define the 21st century,” Rubio said.
The secretary described mass migration as “a crisis which is transforming and destabilizing societies all across the West,” and said controlling borders was “a fundamental act of national sovereignty,” not xenophobia.
Rubio also criticized what he portrayed as European complacency and “fear-driven” policymaking, calling for allies “proud of their culture and heritage” and capable of defending themselves.
“We in America have no interest in being polite and orderly caretakers of the West’s managed decline,” he said.
Invoking shared historical struggles from world wars to the Cold War, Rubio said U.S. and European destinies remain intertwined.
“We want Europe to be strong,” he said. “The fate of Europe will never be irrelevant to our own.”
He defended U.S. global leadership, saying American action rather than multilateral institutions had driven progress on conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine and constrained Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The United Nations, he said, “has tremendous potential,” but on urgent crises “has no answers and has played virtually no role.”
Rubio closed by urging Europe to join what he called a U.S.-led renewal of Western power and prosperity.
“Yesterday is over, the future is inevitable, and our destiny together awaits,” he said.
