US Vice President Marco Rubio has said mass migration is ‘a crisis destabilising the west’ as he told Europe’s leaders America does not want allies that are ‘shackled by shame’.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday morning, Rubio claimed the west has ‘opened our doors’ to an ‘unprecedented wave of mass migration’ as he appealed to Europe to be ‘proud’ of its culture and Christian heritage.
But he also struck a somewhat conciliatory tone in parts, saying that America and Europe ‘belong together’ and said the continent is one of the US’s ‘cherished allies and oldest friends’.
‘We will always be a child of Europe,’ he added, to applause from the crowd.
Among those present at the conference is British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, alongside around 50 world leaders.
Starmer has already met with Germany‘s Friedrich Merz and France‘s Emmanuel Macron and is set to speak later and warn European allies to take more responsibility for their own defence, rather than rely on America.
The leaders have also met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss efforts to end the conflict between Ukraine and Russia as the four-year anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion nears.
European defence and the future of the transatlantic relationship are on the agenda at the conference, at a time when America’s commitment to Nato has been called into question.
Addressing ‘mass migration’ during his speech this morning, Rubio said: ‘Mass migration is not, was not, some fringe concern of little consequence.
US Vice President Marco Rubio has said mass migration is ‘a crisis destabilising the west’ as he told Europe’s leaders America does not want allies that are ‘shackled by shame’
Starmer has already met with Germany’s Friedrich Merz and France’s Emmanuel Macron (right) at the conference, and is due to speak later today
‘It was and continues to be a crisis that is transforming and destabilising societies all across the west.’
He added: ‘Controlling who and how many people enter our counries, this is not ane expression of xenophobia, it is not hate. It is a fundamental act of national sovereignty.’
He said failing to do so would be a ‘fundamental abdication’ of ‘duty’, and described migration as an ‘urgent threat to the fabric of our societies and to the survival of our civilisation itself’.
Elsewhere in his wide-ranging address, which spoke to the history of the United States, the US Secretary of State said: ‘We want allies who can defend themselves, so that no adversary will ever be tempted to test our collective strength. This is why we do not want our allies to be shackled by guilt and shame.
‘We want allies who are proud of their culture and of their heritage, who understand that we are heirs to the same great and noble civilisation, and who together with us are willing and able to defend it.
‘And this is why we do not want allies to rationalise the broken status quo, rather than reckon with what is necessary to fix it. For we in America have no interest in being polite and orderly caretakers of the West’s managed decline.
‘We do not seek to separate but to revitalise an old friendship and renew the greatest civilisation in human history.’
He also said that the fate of the United States and Europe ‘will always be intertwined’.
Rubio said that Donald Trump ‘demands seriousness and reciprocity from our friends here in Europe’ because ‘we care deeply about your future and ours’.
‘And if at times we disagree, our disagreements come from our profound sense of concern about a Europe with which we are connected, not just economically, not just militarily. We are connected spiritually and we are connected culturally.
Addressing ‘mass migration’ during his speech this morning, Rubio claimed it is ‘destabilising’ western societies
‘We want Europe to be strong.
‘We believe that Europe must survive because the two great wars of the last century serve for us as history’s constant reminder that, ultimately, our destiny is and will always be intertwined with yours.
‘Because we know that the fate of Europe will never be irrelevant to our own.’
Wolfgang Ischinger, the chairman of the Munich Security Conference who acted as a moderator for Mr Rubio as he took questions, claimed there had been a ‘sigh of relief through this hall’ during the speech, in reference to its contrast with the address by US vice president JD Vance in 2025.
Later, Sir Keir will say that Europe must relinquish its overdependence on the United States.
The Prime Minister will also argue for the UK to move closer to the European Union, saying turning inwards such as in the Brexit years would amount to a ‘surrender’ of control in a perilous era for geopolitics.
It comes amid a prickly global backdrop after tensions flared over Mr Trump’s recent threat to take over Greenland from Nato partner Denmark, and insults directed at various leaders.
In his speech to the summit on Saturday, the Prime Minister will call for a more European defence alliance and greater autonomy for the continent.
Sir Keir will say that this should be underpinned by stronger ties between Britain and the EU.
He is expected to say: ‘We are not the Britain of the Brexit years anymore.
‘Because we know that, in dangerous times, we would not take control by turning inward – we would surrender it. And I won’t let that happen.
‘There is no British security without Europe, and no European security without Britain. That is the lesson of history – and it is today’s reality too.’
The Prime Minister will also praise the US’s contribution to European security and say it remains a key ally.
But as Mr Trump’s administration has upended the international order and denigrated traditional allies in Europe, the bloc must reduce its dependence on the US and take more responsibility for its own defence, Sir Keir will suggest.
In his speech, Sir Keir will say: ‘I’m talking about a vision of European security and greater European autonomy, that does not herald US withdrawal but answers the call for more burden sharing in full, and remakes the ties that have served us so well.’
He will highlight Europe’s failure to make the most of its defence capabilities and call for closer UK-EU defence co-operation ‘to multiply our strengths and build a shared industrial base across Europe which can turbocharge our defence production’.
It comes after talks on Britain joining the EU’s new 150 billion euro (£130 billion) Security Action for Europe (Safe) rearmament fund were reported to have broken down at the end of last year, as the price for entry was thought to be too high.
‘Europe is a sleeping giant. Our economies dwarf Russia’s, 10 times over,’ Sir Keir will say.
‘We have huge defence capabilities. Yet, too often, all of this has added up to less than the sum of its parts.
‘Across Europe, fragmented industrial planning and long, drawn out procurement mechanisms have led to gaps in some areas – and massive duplication in others.’
The Labour leader will also hit out at Reform UK and the Green Party – ‘the peddlers of easy answers on the extreme left and the extreme right’.
He will add: ‘It’s striking that the different ends of the spectrum share so much. Soft on Russia and weak on Nato – if not outright opposed.
‘And determined to sacrifice the longstanding relationships that we want and need to build, on the altar of their ideology.
‘The future they offer is one of division and then capitulation. The lamps would go out across Europe once again. But we will not let that happen.’