Europe looks to boost its security, urges US to ‘repair and restore trust’ – National
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday that Berlin has started talks with France about the European nuclear deterrent, while President Emmanuel Macron said that Europe should be a political force as the Russian threat will not end.
Merz, who said that the region must be strong in order to rehabilitate its relations with the United States, called in his opening speech at the Munich Security Conference, Washington to “repair and restore trust” in the dangerous new era of superpower politics, warning that the US cannot go it alone as the old global order collapses.
He was later followed by Macron, who pushed back on criticism of the continent, but said it was time for Europe to strengthen and prepare itself with a strong security structure.
The talks underscored how European leaders are increasingly looking to carve out an independent path after a year of unprecedented turmoil in transatlantic relations, while also trying to maintain their alliance with Washington.
Europe faces a host of threats from Russia’s war in Ukraine to a major global trade rift.
“I have started secret talks with the French President about the ban on European nuclear weapons,” Merz said. “We Germans adhere to our legal obligations. We see this as firmly within our nuclear share in NATO. And we will not allow separate security zones to emerge in Europe.”
FRANCE WILL BE THE ONLY NUCLEAR POWER IN THE EU
Macron is expected to make a speech on nuclear disarmament later this month.
He said the consultation with Germany and other leaders was part of a broader discussion that included conventional deep strike capabilities, which Europe lacks unlike Russia, and the role of France’s nuclear deterrent.
“This is the right time to be strong. This is the right time for a strong Europe,” Macron said. “Europe must learn to be a political force. It was not part of our DNA.”
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“We have to reorganize and reorganize our security architecture in Europe. Because the previous security architecture was completely designed and organized during the Cold War. Therefore, it cannot be changed anymore,” he said.
European countries have long relied heavily on the United States, including its massive nuclear arsenal, for their defense but have been increasing military spending, partly in response to sharp criticism from the Trump administration.
Although Germany is currently banned from developing a nuclear weapon under international treaties, France is the only nuclear power in the European Union after Britain’s exit from the bloc and is the fourth largest in the world.
Taking his cue from those warnings that the rules-based international order was about to be destroyed, Merz said: “I’m afraid we have to make it even more clear: This order, however imperfect it was, is no longer that way.”
Switching to English at the end, Merz said: “In an era of great power struggle, even the United States will not be strong enough to go it alone.
“So let’s repair and renew transatlantic trust together,” he added.
Defense Minister David McGuinty told a panel on defense industry cooperation at the conference that Canada is strengthening its relationship with Europe on defense and security procurement. He did not mention the US but confirmed that Canada is increasing its defense spending and capabilities with help from various partners.
US Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, the top Democrat on several foreign relations and defense committees, told the same panel that the United States needs to use a more cooperative approach to deal with China and Russia.
When asked if he believed the Trump administration was following that advice, however, Coons admitted he was not.
“That is an important concern,” he said, citing the recent push to acquire Greenland from fellow NATO member Denmark.
“Our key attitude has to be, we’re going through this with our partners.”
A YEAR AFTER THE VANCE BLAST, RUBIO STRIKES A WARMER TONE
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said that the transatlantic relationship faced a “defining moment” in a rapidly changing world but there was a voice of reconciliation comparable to the words of Vice President JD Vance in 2025.
At the same gathering of senior security officials last year, Vance attacked European allies in a speech that marked the beginning of a series of controversies.
“I think it’s about time … the world is changing very quickly in front of us,” Rubio said before leaving for Munich.
“(The US) is very tied to Europe, and our futures have always been and will continue to be intertwined,” said Rubio, a potential challenger to Vance in the 2028 US presidential race. “So we have to talk about what that future looks like.”
Transatlantic relations have long been at the center of the Munich Security Conference, which began as a Cold War forum for Western defense debate. But the unquestionable assumption of cooperation that supported it has been suspended.
Underscoring the damage, a YouGov poll on Friday of six major European countries showed favorability of the US in Europe hit its worst since tracking began in 2016.
The latest figures are broadly comparable to – and in some cases higher than – the perceived threat from China, Iran or North Korea, although behind Russia, YouGov said.
US President Donald Trump has ousted Venezuela’s leader, threatened other Latin American countries with similar military action, imposed tariffs on friends and foes alike and openly talked about seizing Greenland – a move that could effectively end the NATO alliance.
Vance’s speech last year accused European leaders of criticizing free speech and failing to regulate immigration, which Merz categorically rejected.
“It’s open to tension between Europe and the United States. Vice President JD Vance said this clearly here in Munich last year,” Merz said.
“He was right. MAGA’s culture war is not ours. Freedom of speech ends here for us when that speech is against human dignity and the constitution. We don’t believe in money and protectionism, but in free trade,” he said, to applause.
-With additional files from Global News
