Some Europeans welcome Rubio’s warm words, others remain cautious

Many European policymakers appear to still be smarting from U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s tough words about the region at last year’s Munich Security Conference.

So, it’s perhaps not too surprising that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s comments on Saturday at this year’s event underscoring the U.S. and Europe’s common heritage, goals and challenges have come as something of a relief in European capitals.

“[Rubio] delivered a speech which still assured us that we stand together in this partnership between Europe and the United States,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told CNBC in an interview on the sidelines of the conference. “Of course, there are some questions which we will have to discuss, but in the end of the day, his message was clear that we were so successful in the past, and we should do the job once again with new threats, with new tests in the 21st century.”

On Saturday, Rubio said the U.S. has no intention of abandoning its deep alliance with Europe and wants the region to succeed.

“We want Europe to be strong,” he told the gathering of defense and security officials in the German city. “We believe that Europe must survive, because the two great wars of the last century serve, for us, as history’s great reminder, that ultimately, our destiny is, and will always be, intertwined with yours.”

Contrast that to Vance’s message to the same crowd last year, when he spoke of the “retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.” He lambasted his audience about the health of their democracies, their migration policies and freedom of speech.

While Rubio’s tone might have been more conciliatory than Vance’s, the underlying issues remained the same, as some conference attendees acknowledged.

“Of course, there were some issues he raised. We would answer differently when it comes to the migration problem, when it comes, of course, to question how we organize our legal framework here in Europe with regard to the digital services. And of course, also with the question of freedom of speech and so,” Wadephul said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has frequently criticized Europe for its open migration policies, for being too reliant on the U.S. for its security and has pushed NATO allies to boost defense spending. His pursuit of ownership of Greenland, a Danish territory, has also rattled European leaders in recent months.

“The message we heard (from Rubio) is that America and Europe are intertwined, they have been in the past and will be in the future,” the EU’s chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said at a panel discussion on Sunday. “I think this is important. It is also clear that we don’t see eye-to-eye in all the issues and that this will remain the case. But I think we can work from there.”

A recurring theme at this year’s event has been an earnest investigation into how Europe can stand on its own two feet, militarily and economically, in the face of challenges from Russia and China while the U.S. seeks to rework the global post-war order it created.

While European leaders acknowledge they must become less dependent on the U.S.’s security umbrella and markets, some bristle at the Trump administration’s more confrontational approach compared to its predecessors.

“I think there were messages for us, and there were messages for the public in America, especially their constituents,” Kallas said. “For me, every time I hear this European bashing, it’s very in fashion right now, I’m thinking of what is the alternative?”

Others were even more critical of Rubio’s comments.

“To be frank, I think the fact that we have, for Europeans, [been] asked to comment on the speech by the Americans, is already part of the problem,” Benjamin Haddad, France’s Minister Delegate for Europe, said at the same panel.

“We should not either be relieved or shocked by this or that speech. And I think the worst lesson we could draw from this weekend is to say ‘I can cling to some love words I heard in part of his speech and push the snooze button.'”

He said Europe should “just focus on ourselves, focus on what we can control. Focus on our rearmaments, on the support for Ukraine, and the threat that Russia poses to all of our democracies. Focus on competitiveness.”

Wadephul told CNBC that work to become more independent is underway.

“But this is what we are doing on our own, and Europe has also learned that, of course, if you ask for more European sovereignty, you will receive it,” he said.

“And that also means that, of course, we are more independent than we were in the past. And of course, we are looking for new global partners in the world which are willing to work together with Europe, for instance, Japan, India, Brazil and so on. So this is, I would say, if you are looking to a new global order, this means we keep our alliances, but additionally, we have new global partners, and this is a good future for Europe.”