European Commission - Questions and answers Panel discussion at the Munich Security Conference 2026 Munich, 14 February 2026 Q Madame President, welcome. Thank you for those addresses. Clearly a call to arms, and we can discuss in a little bit. But first I want to ask you, there were a couple of applause lines for Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He said: It is neither our wish nor our goal to destroy the transatlanti...
European Commission - Questions and answers Panel discussion at the Munich Security Conference 2026 Munich, 14 February 2026 Q Madame President, welcome. Thank you for those addresses. Clearly a call to arms, and we can discuss in a little bit. But first I want to ask you, there were a couple of applause lines for Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He said: It is neither our wish nor our goal to destroy the transatlantic alliance. I want to know whether you feel convinced by that, whether you feel that the feathers are being unruffled after last year's broadside, which was exactly the opposite from the American speaker, Vice- President J.D. Vance? President von der Leyen: I was very much reassured by the speech of the Secretary of State. We know him. He is a good friend, a strong ally. Indeed, this was very reassuring for me to listen to him. We know that in the administration, some have a harsher tone on these topics, but the Secretary of State was very clear. He said: We want a strong Europe in the Alliance. And this is what we are working for intensively in the European Union. We have to be an independent Europe, not a Europe that is leaning on someone, but a Europe that is going forward with friends and allies together, facing the challenges that are out there. And therefore, a strong Europe. But we have to build it. We have to work for it, a strong and independent Europe, to then be a strong ally in NATO, because NATO is then consistent in our friends and allies, indeed. But it was also Keir Starmer's message: We want a strong Europe. And this is, I think, the message of today, which reflected and was echoed very much in the speech of the Secretary of State. Q Now, I know you want to embrace the United States. You talked about not overly depending on but also not rejecting the US. But you know that the Munich Security Conference doctrine before this Conference began talked about an era of demolition politics, demolition men, the politics of destruction, etcetera, including referencing the President of the United States. A very key former Republican, which is what he himself, analyst has said that America under Trump is playing a role of a hostile and possibly predatory power as well. So Europe is caught between a predatory Russia and a potentially predatory United States. Have you internalised that? And is that where you are right now, in terms of these fighting words that you have just delivered about pretty much total independence? Do you believe that you are between two predatory powers? President von der Leyen: There are more threats. First of all, I would never align Russia with the United States. This is completely different. Q These were not my words. These were an analyst. President von der Leyen: I would not at all agree with this analyst that there is any equidistance between Russia and the United States. It is very clear. But of course, the European Union is challenged with superpowers that are reaching out much more than they used to, and to many other threats. And Russia is a real threat to us, without any question. This is the reason why we have to strengthen our own defence posture; why we have to look into the possibilities that we have, for example, with Article 42(7); why we have to develop our defence industrial base. So, independence means becoming stronger. On the economic side, this is also very clearly about diversifying with like- minded partners. The trade agreement we did with India, the trade agreement we have with Mercosur, as well as Mexico. All this is within a strategy to be more independent, stronger. and independent means to stand up, develop your own strengths, be clear-eyed about your own weaknesses, and not look at others to compensate for your own weaknesses. No, be strong, stand up and develop your own strengths, and be open to the world and connect with like-minded partners. And of course, a friend and like-minded partner has always been and is the UK on our continent. Q I obviously want to dig into Ukraine because you raised it very clearly towards the beginning of your speech. But you also said that some red lines have been crossed, and they cannot be uncrossed. I think you were talking about the United States in your speech. What red lines are you talking about? Because there is a massive deficit of trust between many people in the alliance and certainly leaders who are now having to do what you are doing – workarounds, de-risking, decoupling, whatever you might want to call it, independence. What red lines have been crossed that cannot be uncrossed? President von der Leyen: For example, I want to be very clear: Our digital sovereignty is our digital sovereignty. And we have a long tradition in freedom of speech. Actually, the Age of Enlightenment started on our continent. And on digital sovereignty, we are also very clear that what is forbidden offline is forbidden online. And we will not flinch at that. We will be very steadfast to pursue this. But if I may also look at the ‘dream on' quote of the Secretary-General of NATO, I would like to tell him: My dear friend, there is not only status quo or division and disruption. There is a lot in between. And status quo is not satisfactory, neither for us nor for the United States. So there is much more in between. And an independent Europe just means: Let us develop our strength without constantly leaning on someone else and then be strong, move forward and face the challenges the world is offering to us. This is what I want to tell my friend Mark Rutte. Q About Ukraine, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, barely mentioned it except for an elusive peace, he said those words. Now, President Trump has said in his latest comments that Ukraine President Zelenskyy needs to get on to it because Russia wants a deal, these are his words, and President Zelenskyy needs to get on to it right now otherwise he is going to miss a great opportunity. Secretary of State Rubio did not go to your leaders meeting with President Zelenskyy last night. Where do you think this all stands? Where do the negotiations stand? Is it Zelenskyy who needs to be pressured? President von der Leyen: I think it is extremely important that we do not buy in the Russian narrative. And this has been out too much out there. I mean, if we look at the strategic goals and the military goals of Putin, it is a huge failure. He wanted to russify Ukraine. Ukraine has become European. He wanted to stop NATO. NATO has gotten bigger with Sweden and Finland. He wanted to occupy Ukraine within days or weeks. Well, now we are unfortunately in the fourth year of the war. And I think it is so important, that we from our side tell the truth on what is going on in Russia. With a war economy with skyrocketing interest rates and inflation, it is completely isolated and now this is a war of attrition. And in this war of attrition, it is of utmost importance that we push forward the negotiations and put pressure on Putin that he finally comes to the negotiation table, and therefore it was so valuable that we have developed together the security guarantees, the prosperity paper, and are discussing the 20-point plan. Because it is of utmost importance that Ukraine, the European Union, and the United States are on aligned, that we are very clear what our standpoint is. This has very much matured, and now it is a matter of putting pressure on Putin that he comes to the negotiation table. He avoids, of course, the negotiation table because he does not want to sit down to have peace, which is absolutely abhorrent. So therefore, the pressure we put on him, and the economy is at its limit, is the one way really to make progress in getting him to the negotiation table and engage in peace talks. QANDA/26/415 Press contacts: Paula PINHO (+32 2 29 20815) Arianna PODESTA (+32 2 298 70 24) Olof GILL (+32 2 29 65966) General public inquiries: Europe Direct by phone 00 800 67 89 10 11 or by email
Speech Brief