A familiar alliance is being recast in stark new terms. At the Munich Security Conference, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Europe to help build what he described as a “new Western century”, a project rooted, he said, in shared civilization rather than simple strategic convenience.
“We are part of one civilization, Western civilization,” Rubio told delegates, framing the transatlantic bond as cultural and historic, not merely political.
His appeal comes after more than a year of hard-edged rhetoric from President Donald Trump on migration and identity in Europe. The administration’s latest National Security Strategy warns of “civilizational erasure” on the continent. Last year, Vice President JD Vance used the same Munich platform to criticize European “liberal values”.
With far-right parties advancing across Europe, Rubio’s speech raises a pressing question: will European leaders align with Washington’s new tone, or quietly resist it?
What Rubio argued
Rubio set out three priorities for what he sees as a renewed Western alliance: rolling back what he called failed “liberalist” policies, curbing mass migration, and rebuilding industrial strength to reduce reliance on China.
He said the West had been carried away by the belief that the Cold War’s end marked “the end of history”, a world in which liberal democracy would spread unchecked, and borders would matter less.
That, he argued, led to complacency and damaging choices.
“We opened our 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,” Rubio said.
“Mass migration is not, was not, isn’t some fringe concern of little consequence. It was and continues to be a crisis which is transforming and destabilizing societies all across the West.”
He also criticized green policies, saying that to “appease a climate cult, we have imposed energy policies on ourselves that are impoverishing our people”.
Yet Rubio’s message was not only about borders. He urged Europe and the US to rebuild industrial muscle together, especially in high-tech sectors.
“The work of this new alliance,” he said, “should not be focused just on military cooperation and reclaiming the industries of the past. It should also be focused on, together, advancing our mutual interests and new frontiers, unshackling our ingenuity, our creativity, and the dynamic spirit to build a new Western century.”
Central to that vision is control over critical minerals and supply chains, areas where China currently holds major leverage. Rubio called for a “Western supply chain for critical minerals not vulnerable to extortion from other powers”.
Earlier this month, President Trump convened ministers in Washington for a new Critical Minerals Ministerial aimed at countering Beijing’s grip on key resources.
Europe’s careful response
In the hall, Rubio’s speech was met with a standing ovation. Publicly, European leaders stressed unity. Privately, they avoided endorsing his sharper language on migration and liberalism.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen acknowledged differences in tone.
“We know that in the (Trump) administration, some have a harsher tone on these topics,” she said. “But the secretary of state was very clear. He said, ‘We want a strong Europe in the alliance’, and this is what we are working for intensively in the European Union.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot struck a diplomatic note: “Referring to (our) common legacy can only be welcomed with applause in Europe.”
But he added pointedly, “We will deliver a strong and independent Europe. Independent, of course, irrespective of the speeches that we hear at the Munich Security Conference, however right they may be.”
Germany’s foreign minister, John Wadephul, called Rubio a “true partner” and highlighted shared commitment to the rules-based order, especially the United Nations.
Finland’s foreign minister, Elina Valtonen, said she was “very satisfied with the tone” and the substance of the speech.
The message from Europe was clear: partnership, yes, but on its own terms.
Why Europe is already shifting
In truth, many European governments have already begun moving in directions Rubio demands.
Russia’s war in Ukraine and doubts about long-term US support have pushed capitals to increase defence spending. Migration controls have tightened across the continent. Denmark has adopted some of Europe’s toughest asylum rules, aiming for “zero asylum seekers”, and the UK is studying its model.
Far-right parties have surged, reshaping political debate. In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom won the 2023 election. France’s National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen, topped the 2024 snap vote. In Britain, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has climbed sharply in the polls.
Ideas once confined to the fringes, such as “remigration”, promoted by Austria’s Herbert Kickl and Germany’s Alice Weidel, are gaining attention in conservative circles.
In that context, Rubio’s speech did not fall on deaf ears. But it also cut across deep divides about identity, democracy and Europe’s post-war values.
A partnership under strain
For many European leaders, the priority in Munich was not ideological alignment but stability in the alliance itself.
The standing ovation that followed Rubio’s remarks was telling. After months of transatlantic tension, the simple affirmation that the US still sees Europe as a partner drew relief.
Yet beneath the applause lies uncertainty. Washington is pressing for a more hard-edged, civilization-based alliance. Europe is balancing rising domestic pressures with a desire to defend liberal institutions and strategic autonomy.
Whether a “new Western century” emerges may depend less on speeches and more on whether both sides can reconcile those differences, without fracturing the alliance that has defined global politics for eight decades.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: ZEE News
