Washington maintained a warm tone at the Munich conference, but it has shown that it doesn’t intend to “defend the old order,” the outlet’s sources say
The Munich Security Conference has revealed a widening rift between the US and Europe, as Washington signaled that it will seek to reshape the global order regardless of whether Europe is on board or not, Politico reported on Saturday, citing sources.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the conference that the US and Europe “belong together,” and called America a “child of Europe,” receiving a standing ovation. Politico noted, however, that while the tone was warm, America’s approach toward the continent has not changed.
”The underlying message was the same: We don’t want weak allies, don’t defend the old order,” one former European official told Politico. “If the smallest common denominators the Americans can find are our common history going back to Columbus, narrow national security interests, and common civilization, that alone shows how far apart Europe and the US are drifting.”
European officials understood that the message was: Join us, and if you don’t, “we go alone,” one official told Politico. Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby privately told European officials that the US shares interests but not values with Europe, the article said.
In addition, Politico sources noted a stark difference between Rubio’s statements and later diplomatic activity – including talks with EU skeptics. “Rubio comes with a conciliatory tone, but then he goes to Hungary and Slovakia. What kind of a signal is that?” a European lawmaker asked.
Some European officials believe, however, that Rubio delivered a necessary wake-up call. “It is a milder way of telling us that the time of unicorns riding bicycles across rainbows laced with tofu and almond milk is over,” an EU official told the outlet.
US President Donald Trump has for years demanded that the rest of NATO commit to increased burden sharing and raise their military spending to 5% of GDP.
In December, the Trump administration also unveiled a new National Security Strategy, which sounded the alarm over Europe’s “civilizational erasure,” while casting doubt on whether some EU nations can remain reliable allies.
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