Can Europe still trust US as an ally? Leaders left wondering after Vance's attack in Munich

Should US commitment to military support be eroded, Nato's role would be undermined

- Markus Ziener

MUNICH - Throughout its history, the Munich Security Conference (MSC) has often marked turning points - whether in debates over the Iraq War or Russia's annexation of Crimea. But the 2025 conference, the 61st summit, will go down in history as a radical watershed. What unfolded in Munich in recent days signified nothing less than the end of the old world order.

During his speech at the MSC, United States Vice-President J.D. Vance did not focus on the details of a peace plan for Ukraine - a topic controversial enough on its own. Instead, he chose to deliver a lesson on democracy, or at least his version of it. He accused Western governments of censorship, pursuing a disastrous migration policy and backsliding on religious rights.

What the Vice-President said in Munich was not the language of an ally, neither in style nor in content. It was the rhetoric of an adversary.

Europe, he declared, was in a "crisis of your own making." Mr Vance went even further, arguing that neither Russia nor China posed the greatest threat to the West, but rather, the dangers arising from its own actions.

While many conference attendees had known what to expect from Mr Vance, their concerns had already been heightened days earlier.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, he had shown some sympathy for the far-right Alternative for Germany - a party monitored by German intelligence for its racist and nationalist policies. The thinly veiled endorsement came just a few days before Germany's federal elections on Feb 23.

For Germany, whose transatlantic partnership has been a cornerstone of its foreign policy for decades, the events in Munich felt surreal - like a bad dream.

Defence Minister Boris Pistorius strongly rejected Mr Vance's accusations. "It is unacceptable," he stated, deviating from his original script, "for Vance to question European democracies and compare them to authoritarian systems."