Germany wants reset with US as global order crumbles

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for a stronger Europe to reset its ties with the United States, asking Washington to “repair and revive trust” in a dangerous new era of great power politics as the old global order collapses.

In his speech at the opening of the Munich Security Conference, Merz warned that the United States could not do the job alone, but also said Europe needed to strengthen its own defenses and spoke of secret talks with France on nuclear deterrence.

The speech highlighted how European leaders are seeking to chart an increasingly independent path after a year of unprecedented turmoil in transatlantic relations, while also trying to maintain their alliance with Washington.

Building on warnings that the international rules-based order is about to collapse, Merz said: “I’m afraid we need to state this more clearly: While this order is flawed at best, it no longer exists as such.”

Finally switching to English, Merz said: “In an age where great powers compete, even the United States will not be strong enough to do this job alone. Dear friends, being part of NATO is not only Europe’s competitive advantage, but also the United States’ competitive advantage.”

“So let’s repair and revive transatlantic trust together,” he added.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said transatlantic relations were facing a “defining moment” in a rapidly changing world, but struck a more conciliatory tone that contradicted Vice President JD Vance’s 2025 statements.

At the same meeting of senior security officials last year, Vance attacked his European allies in a speech that marked the beginning of a series of conflicts with Washington’s partners facing countless threats from Russia’s war in Ukraine to major disputes in global trade.

“I think this is a defining moment… the world is changing so fast right in front of us,” Rubio said before leaving for Munich.

“Frankly, the Old World, the world I grew up in, is gone and we are living in a new era of geopolitics, and that will require all of us to re-examine what that looks like and what our role will be,” he said.

“(The United States) is deeply committed to Europe, and our futures have always been and will continue to be connected,” said Rubio, a potential rival to Vance for the 2028 U.S. presidential race.

“So we need to talk about what the future looks like.”

This year’s meeting took place against a backdrop of multiple conflicts, including wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan.

Transatlantic ties have long been at the center of the Munich Security Conference, which began as a Cold War forum to discuss Western defense. But the unquestionable assumption of cooperation that underpinned this has been overturned.

Underscoring the damage, YouGov’s survey of Europe’s six largest countries on Friday showed that positive sentiment towards the US in Europe had reached its lowest level since tracking began in 2016.

YouGov said the latest figures were generally comparable to, and in some cases higher than, the perceived threat from China, Iran or North Korea, but fell behind Russia.

US President Donald Trump ousted Venezuela’s leader, threatened other Latin American countries with similar military action, imposed tariffs on friends and foes, and openly talked about annexing Greenland from NATO member Denmark; this was a move that could effectively end the alliance.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who said she would meet Rubio in Munich, said, “No one can win from any conflict between former allies in Europe or the United States.”

“So we have to do what we can to keep Americans close to us, but this is a new world disorder we’re living in.”