Jens Spahn, the chair of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, said he was optimistic that the transatlantic partnership could be retained after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s speech at the Munich Security Conference. “Rubio’s address shows that NATO remains viable and that we have a common working baseline with the U.S. government” Spahn told “Handelsblatt” on Saturday, adding that this means “we can work very well”.

During the conference Rubio affirmed the alliance between the United States and Europe, stating, “We want Europe to be strong”. Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) described the U.S. partnership as a “competitive advantage” for both sides. A senior NATO diplomat spoke of a “new dynamic” and expressed satisfaction with how the conference progressed, a view echoed by other German government officials.