Wake-up call or already the death blow? Five lessons from the Munich Security Conference
German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck finds harsh words.
Image: dpa
A dark week lies behind Ukrainian President Selenskyj.
Image: dpa
Also on the MSC stage: Asaad al-Shaybani from Syria. But his country was only marginally discussed.
Image: dpa
Leaving irritation in his wake: US Vice President J.D. Vance.
Image: dpa
Expected to attend a special meeting in Paris this Monday: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Image: dpa
Received a lot of approval for his speech: German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
Image: dpa
German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck finds harsh words.
Image: dpa
A dark week lies behind Ukrainian President Selenskyj.
Image: dpa
Also on the MSC stage: Asaad al-Shaybani from Syria. But his country was only marginally discussed.
Image: dpa
Leaving irritation in his wake: US Vice President J.D. Vance.
Image: dpa
Expected to attend a special meeting in Paris this Monday: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Image: dpa
Received a lot of approval for his speech: German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
Image: dpa
Is it just a wake-up call or the death blow for the Western community of values? The transatlantic alliance emerges from the Munich Security Conference badly shaken.
16.02.2025, 15:50
dpa
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The 61st edition of the Munich Security Conference is shattering the relationship between Europe and the USA.
- With his frontal attack on European democracies, US President Donald Trump's deputy has shaken the transatlantic partnership to the core.
- However, his speech had practically nothing to do with security policy.
Many Munich Security Conferences are quickly forgotten. This will definitely be different at the 61st edition of the world's most important meeting of experts on security policy. With his frontal attack on the European democracies, US President Donald Trump's deputy has shaken the transatlantic partnership to its core. US Vice President J.D. Vance's speech during his inaugural visit to Europe will reverberate for a long time to come and may have serious consequences - for the G7 and NATO, Ukraine and the world order as a whole. Five lessons from three memorable days in Munich:
1. the West is falling apart
How can the war in Ukraine be ended? How can NATO organize burden-sharing in the defence of the Alliance's territory? Are US troops withdrawing from Europe? The European allies had hoped for answers to these questions and offers of cooperation from Vance. However, his speech had practically nothing to do with security policy. He was not primarily concerned about external threats, he said. "I'm concerned about the danger from within, that Europe could retreat from some of the fundamental values, values that are shared with the US."
Vance criticized the Europeans' fight against disinformation as a restriction of freedom of expression and the exclusion of parties such as the AfD as undemocratic. This goes to the heart of the Western alliance, the shared idea of what democracy means. This consensus no longer exists in the Trump era. "The Western community of values has now been terminated here yesterday," Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) put it in a nutshell. The American government has "sided with the autocrats".
The consequences are unforeseeable. For example, how will cooperation between the USA and its European allies in the G7, the group of economically strong democracies, work at all? And what will become of NATO as the central pillar of cooperation between the USA, Canada and Europe? This will become clear at the latest at two summit meetings in these two formats in June.
British historian Timothy Snyder believes that Germany in particular now has a duty in the battle for democratic values. "Germany is the most important democracy in the world today," he said in an interview with Stern magazine, adding with regard to the Bundestag elections: "What happens in these elections will have a huge impact on the rest of the world."
2 Europe without a plan and on the sidelines
But what is the EU's response to Trump? In Munich, it became clear that it was caught cold by the new US course. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Sunday as an outside observer that it all seemed to him like two Netflix series running in parallel: On one side, the American "one sheriff show" and on the other, the EU as a "patient with 27 doctors" - alluding to the number of members of the European Union.
So far, there is no common EU strategy for dealing with Trump. Many Europeans had hoped for too long that he would lose the election. Now, very differently minded players need to find a common line very quickly: From Trump friend Viktor Orban in Hungary, to Giorgia Meloni in Italy, who is also a right-wing nationalist, to Trump critics such as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD).
The big question is whether the Europeans will succeed in the face of the US course, which is geared towards national interests - and if so, how quickly. The first acid test will be this Monday: Scholz and other European heads of state and government want to discuss how they want to deal with the US government's new Ukraine policy at a special meeting in Paris, which has been arranged at short notice. This aims to force Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selensky and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin into negotiations on an end to the war.
At the security conference, the Europeans demanded a central place at the negotiating table, but received a fairly clear rejection from US special envoy Keith Kellogg. They are also confronted with Washington's demand to say how they could ensure the security of Ukraine after the negotiation of a ceasefire agreement. Specifically, this includes soldiers for a possible peacekeeping force and weapons systems.
Scholz had previously played down the issue for weeks and said that it was too early to talk about a peacekeeping force. Great Britain's head of government Keir Starmer is also to be present at the talks in Paris. For the British, the clear departure of the USA from Europe is just as big a shock as it is for the EU states.
3 Ukraine faces an uncertain future
A dark week lies behind Ukrainian President Zelensky. In order to facilitate an end to the Russian war of aggression, the US wants Ukraine to give up its ambitions of joining NATO quickly and accept that part of its territory will remain permanently under Russian control. It should also grant the USA access rights to valuable Ukrainian raw materials in return for further support.
Selensky has no choice but to put on a good face. If he rejects the USA's demands, he runs the risk that they will cease their military support and his country may fall completely under Russian control.
In view of the course taken by the new US administration, Selensky called for Europeans to stand together at the security conference and called for the formation of a joint European army. "From now on, things will be different and Europe must adapt to this," he said.
4 What falls behind because of Trump and Vance
The Vance attack on Europe also meant that other pressing issues had little chance in Munich. These included climate policy and Trump's outlawed move away from fossil fuels ("Drill, baby, drill"), as well as the dramatic situation in the Gaza Strip and the future of Syria, which is very relevant for Europe. Syria's de facto Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaybani made his first major appearance on the international stage in Munich.
He asked for international support and assured that the victorious Islamist militia HTS would respect the diversity of the Syrian people and fundamental rights. The international community is faced with the decision of whether HTS will remain on the terror list and whether the sanctions imposed on Syria will be lifted. Al-Shaybani appealed for trust. "Turning a revolution into a state, this successful step in Syria in just two months, you don't find that in recent times."
5. campaigners united for a moment
The security conference was also a showcase for German campaigners one week before the Bundestag elections next Sunday. With Olaf Scholz (SPD), Friedrich Merz (CDU/CSU) and Robert Habeck (Greens), the three most promising candidates for chancellor made appearances on the big stage - and for once they were united. The shock of Vance's speech united the campaigners, who unanimously refrained from interfering in internal affairs in view of his backing for the AfD.
Only FDP leader Christian Lindner did not join in the cross-party criticism: "So perhaps a slightly less reflexive response is needed in relation to a friend who has become complicated, the USA, but a little more critical self-examination," he said.
Incidentally, one of the German politicians who received the most attention was someone who only played a minor role in the election campaign. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) was the first to respond to Vance and received a lot of applause in the hall and on social media. The others were not on the program until a day later.
