Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, will represent the United States at the Munich Security Conference starting on February 13. As distances between traditional NATO partners deepen, Rubio will debate between prudence in presenting differences and the head-on clash that Vice President J.D. Vance and that Donald Trump has fed.

First modification: 02/13/2026 - 03:53

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A United States confronted like never before in recent years with Europe will participate starting this February 13 in the Munich Security Conference without its president Donald Trump, who has decided to skip the meeting, and with the very present memory of last year's intervention, by Vice President J.D. Vance.

A year after Vance appeared blaming European leaders for putting Western civilization at risk with their left-leaning policies and accusing them of failing to take charge of their own defense, Rubio is expected to less violently maintain Donald Trump's positions.

"We live in a new era in geopolitics, and it is going to require us all to reexamine what that will look like," Rubio told reporters before leaving for Munich, a statement that somewhat anticipates that differences will continue to dominate the agenda, although he also clarified that "we are very closely linked to Europe."

Some 200 dignitaries from 120 countries will participate in the global geopolitical summit, which coincides with the launch of the NATO 'Arctic Sentinel' mission, which coordinates multinational military exercises in the region under a unified direction, under the shadow of the recent disagreements with Washington in relation to Greenland.

Ukraine will continue to be a central topic in the meeting, in which President Volodímir Zelenski will participate, with whom Rubio has anticipated a meeting within the framework of the Conference.

The Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, who was recently the most prominent voice of the traditional allies now estranged from the United States, with his powerful speech during the Davos Economic Forum, will not attend.

Carney, who has become a leader in seeking alliances to confront Washington's new attitude, canceled his participation after the shooting at a high school in Tumbler Ridge that left nine dead.

Also absent will be the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, who has had more success in repairing relations with the White House, committed to the rain emergency in his country.

In addition to Ukraine and recent differences over Greenland, the leaders are expected to address the US intervention in Venezuela, which ended with the removal of President Nicolás Maduro, as well as the situation in Iran.

Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado will speak remotely, while her daughter Ana Corina, who received the award on her behalf in Oslo, will be present in Munich.

Between the breakup and the rapprochement

Several European leaders seem to have lost patience in their relationship with Donald Trump, and French President Emmanuel Macron will most likely embody the position of the most irritated in Munich.

Macron, who like Carney opened his country's embassy in Nuuk, as a sign of support for Greenland against Trump's claims, recently referred to the Republican magnate's government as "openly anti-European" and expressed doubts about the relevance of continuing to seek to mend ties.

"When there is a clear act of aggression, I think what we should do is not give up or try to reach an agreement. I think we have been trying that strategy for months. It doesn't work," he said in statements to several European media.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in his capacity as host, is called upon to show a more conciliatory position, and his first rehearsal will be a bilateral meeting with Rubio this February 13, on the sidelines of the Conference.

Merz has said that Europe must "learn the language of power politics," and to do so it must take responsibility for its own defense and promote greater "technological independence."

But he has also made clear that "as democracies, we are partners and allies and not subordinates" of the United States.

The Conference will also represent the first time that a representative of the White House meets with leaders of countries such as France, Germany, the United Kingdom or Italy, which have rejected or continue not to respond to Trump's invitation to join the Gaza Peace Board.

Precisely this organization could be a new source of disagreement between Washington and European multilateralism, which has shown concern at the prospect that the 27-member Peace Board will not be limited to Gaza, but will be presented as an alternative mechanism for the resolution of other conflicts.

With AP and EFE

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