German Chancellor: Rules-based world order no longer exists
The rules-based world order "no longer exists", the German Chancellor has warned.
Opening the annual Munich Security Conference, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told world leaders that "our freedom is not guaranteed" in an era of great power politics and that Europeans must be ready for "sacrifices."
He also admitted that "a deep rift has opened between Europe and the United States," writes the BBC, reports Dukagjini.
The conference is taking place at a time when US President Donald Trump has threatened Denmark's sovereignty over Greenland, vowing to annex the Arctic territory, and has imposed tariffs on imports from European countries.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was present during Merz's speech and is expected to deliver his own speech on Saturday, earlier spoke of a "new era in geopolitics".
Around 50 world leaders are expected to participate in this conference, which will focus on European defense and the future of transatlantic relations.
The incident comes at a time when the US commitment to the NATO military alliance has been called into question. Trump's ambition to acquire Greenland has been seen by many European leaders as a turning point that has damaged trust with their biggest ally.
Trump told reporters outside the White House: “Greenland is going to love us… We get along very well with Europe. We’ll see how it goes. We’re negotiating Greenland now.”
Also on the agenda of the annual meeting are the Russia-Ukraine war, tensions between the West and China, and the possibility of a nuclear deal between the US and Iran.
Referring to the many warnings that the rules-based order is collapsing, Merz said: “I am afraid we have to say it even more bluntly: this order, however imperfect it may have been at the best of times, no longer exists in that form.”
He added that "a rift, a deep divide has opened between Europe and the United States. Vice President JD Vance said this openly here in Munich a year ago."
Merz continued: “He was right. The Maga (Make America Great Again) culture war is not ours. Freedom of speech ends with us when it conflicts with human dignity and the constitution. We do not believe in tariffs and protectionism, but in free trade.”
However, Merz did not reject the decades-old partnership, addressing the US directly with the call: "Let's repair and revive transatlantic trust."
He also revealed that "confidential talks" are taking place with French President Emmanuel Macron about creating a joint European nuclear deterrence mechanism, without providing further details.
France and the United Kingdom are the only two nuclear powers in Europe, while Germany and many other European countries have traditionally relied on the US nuclear umbrella within NATO for deterrence.
In his speech, Macron reiterated the call for Europe to "learn to become a geopolitical power" in the new global context, emphasizing that the continent is already rearming after the full Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but that "we must accelerate" efforts and act jointly.
Describing the war in Ukraine as an "existential challenge" for Europe, he called on leaders not to "give in to Russian demands" but to increase pressure on Moscow to achieve a just peace.
Meanwhile, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced that she plans to meet with Rubio to discuss US threats to take Greenland from its NATO ally.
