LIVE VIDEO Marco Rubio, historic speech in Munich: “The USA will always be a child of Europe”, but uncontrolled migration is not minor, it threatens our existence

The head of US diplomacy, Marco Rubio, gave a historic speech at the Munich Security Conference, in a profoundly different tone than the one delivered last year at the same meeting by Vice President JD Vance. There has been criticism of the mistakes made by the US and Europe in the past, but Rubio said they are part of the same civilization and must be together, stressing that the US does not want to separate from Europe, but to revitalize the connection with it. At the end, he was wildly applauded by much of the audience, who rose to their feet to applaud the US Secretary of State's speech.

Marc Rubio's key statements:

• We have gathered here today as members of a historic alliance, an alliance that saved and changed the world. When this conference began in 1963, it was held in a nation, in fact, on a continent that was itself divided. The line between communism and freedom ran through the heart of Germany
• At the time of the first meeting, Soviet communism was in full swing and thousands of years of Western civilization were in the balance.
• At that time, victory was far from certain, but we were motivated by a common goal. We were united not only by what we were fighting, but also by what we were defending.
• The euphoria of this triumph has led us to a dangerous illusion, that we have entered the end of history and that every nation will now be a liberal democracy, that ties formed only through trade and commerce will now replace nationality, that global rules-based order, an overused term, will now replace national interest, and that we will now live in a world without borders, in which everyone will become a citizen of the world.”
• This was a foolish idea that ignored both human nature and the lessons of over 5,000 years of recorded human history, and it cost us dearly.
• In this illusion, we embraced a dogmatic vision of free and unrestricted trade while deindustrializing, moving millions of jobs overseas, and ceding control to adversaries and rivals.
• We have increasingly outsourced our sovereignty to international institutions, while many nations have invested in massive welfare states at the cost of maintaining the ability to defend themselves.
• In pursuit of a world without borders, we have opened the doors to an unprecedented wave of mass migration that threatens the cohesion of our societies, the continuity of our culture and the future of our people.
• Mass migration is not and has not been a marginal issue of minor consequence, it is transforming and destabilizing societies throughout the Western world. We need to take control of our borders.
• This is not an expression of xenophobia. It's not hate. It is a fundamental act of national sovereignty, and failure to do so is not merely an abdication of one of the most basic obligations we owe to our people.
• It is an urgent threat to the fabric of our societies and the survival of our civilization itself.
• The United States will again take up the task of renewal and restoration
• The US and Europe are closely related, with shared history, Christian faith, culture, heritage, language, ancestors, and past sacrifices.
• That's why we Americans can sometimes seem a little direct and pushy in our advice. … The reason, friends, is that we care deeply.
• We care deeply about your future and ours, and if we sometimes disagree, our disagreements stem from our deep concern for a Europe to which we are bound, not just economically, not just militarily, but also spiritually and culturally.
• The US wants Europe to be strong because we know that Europe's fate will never be irrelevant to our national security.”
• The United States and Europe must be together. We are part of one civilization, the Western civilization.
• The UN has enormous potential, but has failed to resolve the conflict in Gaza or Ukraine, proving powerless each time
• In a perfect world, all of these issues and more would be resolved by diplomats and strongly worded resolutions.
• But we do not live in a perfect world, and we cannot continue to allow those who blatantly and openly threaten our citizens and endanger global stability to hide behind abstractions of international law that they themselves systematically violate.
• We don't want our allies to be weak, because that makes us weaker.
• We want allies that can defend themselves so that no adversary is tempted to test our collective strength. That is why we do not want our allies to be burdened with guilt and shame.
• We want allies who are proud of their culture and heritage, who understand that we are heirs to the same great and noble civilization, and who, with us, are willing and able to defend it. That's why we don't want our allies rationalizing the flawed status quo instead of considering what's needed to fix it.
• Because we in America have no interest in being polite and disciplined caretakers of the West's controlled decline.
• At a time when headlines herald the end of the transatlantic era, let it be clear to all that this is neither our goal nor our desire, because for us Americans, our home may be in the Western Hemisphere, but we will always be a child of Europe.

Original article

Arriving in Munich on Friday, Marco Rubio met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, the German chancellor, and had a private discussion with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and his Greenlandic counterpart Jens-Frederik Nielsen on the sidelines of the conference, according to AFP.

On the second day of the conference, which brings together the world's defense and security elite in the Bavarian capital, the need for reinvention appears to be shared on both sides of the Atlantic, with Europeans in particular urged to take responsibility.

Merz: Not even the United States is strong enough to stand alone

A day earlier, in a high-profile speech, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for the “repair” and “renewal” of transatlantic trust damaged by US President Donald Trump.

Since his return to power, Donald Trump, who believes the European Union was built to “annoy” the United States, has Europe in his sights. Proof of this is his new National Security Strategy, in which the US president has embarked on an unprecedented attack against Europeans, who, according to him, are threatened by a “civilizational extinction”.

But “in the era of great power rivalry, even the United States will not be strong enough to act alone,” the German chancellor added.

The relationship “is in great uncertainty. But we have to make clear what we want for ourselves and what we have to do. And the United States has to make clear what it is ready to do for the Europeans,” French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters in Munich on Friday.

He appealed at the conference to take Europe as an “example” rather than “criticize” or “caricature” it, in response to a shocking speech a year ago from the same podium by US Vice President JD Vance.

At the same time, he called for a “strong Europe” and warned that Europe would have to “define its rules of coexistence” with Russia once a peace deal is reached to end the war in Ukraine in order to “limit the risk of escalation”.

Starmer and Zelenski will also speak on Saturday

Speaking of a “sleeping giant”, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will call on Europe to reduce its “over-dependence” on the United States for arms by strengthening industrial cooperation, according to excerpts of his speech distributed in advance.

Another important moment of Saturday will be the intervention of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, also present in Munich.

US President Donald Trump on Friday urged him to “move” to reach a deal with Russia ahead of a new round of negotiations in Geneva next week.