The U.S Secretary of State, Marco Rubio will lead a sizeable U.S. delegation to the Munich Security Conference starting on Friday, underscoring the importance of transatlantic relations, the head of the forum said.
Wolfgang Ischinger, the former diplomat who chairs the annual gathering of security experts and policymakers, said more than 50 members of the U.S. Congress were expected, including Democratic U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Fifteen prime ministers or heads of state from the European Union will also attend the conference, which German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will open on Friday and continue until Sunday, he said.
“At the moment, transatlantic relations are, in my view, in a considerable crisis of trust and credibility,” Ischinger told a press conference on Monday in Berlin.
“That is why it is particularly gratifying that the American side is showing such strong interest in Munich.”
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At last year’s conference, U.S. Vice President JD Vance accused European leaders of censoring free speech and failing to control immigration.
The comments by Vance, who also met Alternative for Germany party leader Alice Weidel, began a series of criticisms of Europe by members of President Donald Trump’s administration that have unsettled Washington’s European allies.
Rubio is expected to deliver a speech on Saturday.
One of the main themes of the conference will be Europe’s ability in the future to assert itself more strongly through its own capabilities and to speak with one voice, Ischinger said.
Europe’s response to Trump’s designs on Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, showed that it could do so if required.
Trump has backed off tariff threats against Europe and ruled out taking Greenland by force.
REUTERS