Zagreb, 15 February 2026 (Hina/MIA) — European leaders, including Croatian PM Andrej Plenković, welcomed on Saturday the speech by US Secretary of State Marc Rubio in Munich when he reassured Europeans that America would remain their ally and friend after a year of strained transatlantic relations under President Donald Trump.

Rubio's statements at the Munich Security Confernce (MSC) were in stark contrast to last year’s address by US Vice President JD Vance, who had claimed that restrictions on free speech and the handling of mass migration in some European countries posed a greater threat to Europe than Russia.

"A very different tone from last year, which is positive for US–EU relations," Plenković told reporters. "Clearly, his positions on transatlantic cooperation and partnership are constructive."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Rubio had convinced her of his intentions. 

US Secretary of State Rubio has assured European leaders the US does not plan to abandon the transatlantic alliance, saying its destiny "will always be intertwined" with the continent's. He told the Munich Security Conference: "We do not seek to separate, but to revitalise an old friendship and renew the greatest civilisation in human history."

In response, Von der Leyen said that Rubio "is a good friend, a strong ally. And this was, for me, very reassuring to listen to him." "We want a strong Europe. And this is, I think, the message of today," she said.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul highlighted Rubio’s message that the US would uphold a rules-based international order.

This primarily means the United Nations. It is our ‘board for peace,’ and we want it to remain so. Of course, we need to reform it and make it more effective, as Rubio said, said Wadephul.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot welcomed Rubio’s references to the shared heritage of Europe and the US and his view that some problems cannot be solved by individual states alone.

Build a strong and independent Europe – that is what we have heard from both Democratic and Republican administrations in the past. We will build a strong and independent Europe. Independent, no matter the speeches we hear at the Munich conference, however justified they may be, Barrot said.