Rubio urges renewed Western alliance, reindustrialization and tighter borders at Munich Security Conference

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio told the Munich Security Conference that the transatlantic alliance ‘‘saved and changed the world’’ and must be rebuilt to meet new strategic challenges.

Rubio opened by recalling the conference’s Cold War origins and the threats then facing Europe, saying the post‑Cold War belief that liberal democracy and unfettered globalization would automatically prevail was ‘‘a foolish idea’’ that ignored historical realities. He argued those assumptions had contributed to deindustrialization, loss of supply‑chain sovereignty and the offshoring of millions of middle‑class jobs.

Why it matters: Rubio framed economic policy, migration and defense as linked parts of a single strategic agenda. He urged Western governments to invest collectively in advanced industries — including commercial space, artificial intelligence, automation and critical‑minerals supply chains — to reduce reliance on strategic rivals and to ‘‘rebuild’’ an industrial base that supports national security.

Rubio criticized some energy and climate policies as economically harmful, saying they had ‘‘impoverished our people’’ while competitors exploited fossil fuels. He also described mass migration as a ‘‘crisis’’ that threatens social cohesion and said controlling who enters a country is an act of sovereignty rather than xenophobia.

On international institutions he said the United Nations retains ‘‘tremendous potential’’ but has so far provided ‘‘no answers’’ to recent crises, and he credited American leadership and allied cooperation for bringing some parties to negotiation in conflicts such as Ukraine and in hostage‑release cases.

On Ukraine, Rubio said negotiators have narrowed the issues that would be necessary to end the war but added that the remaining questions are ‘‘the hardest’’ and an outcome acceptable to both Ukraine and Russia has been elusive. He said the United States has imposed additional sanctions on Russian oil and continues to provide military assistance and arms transfers to Ukraine.

Asked about relations with China ahead of an expected summit between President Trump and President Xi Jinping, Rubio said communication between the two largest economies is necessary and that some areas of mutual interest permit cooperation; he added that many strategic interests will not align and that diplomacy must manage those tensions to avoid unnecessary conflict.

Rubio characterized the message of his speech as a call for ‘‘renewal and restoration’’ under the Trump administration’s approach, and he invited European partners to join a program of economic and military resilience rather than cede advantages to rival powers.

The session concluded after a brief question period; the moderator thanked Rubio for ‘‘a message of reassurance’’ and the program continued.