Europe is in an abusive relationship. The time has come to end it, especially since JD Vance's crude and squalid attack on the European Union and the transatlantic alliance a year ago is proving increasingly toxic.

In Munich for the annual Munich Security Conference, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio returned to the crime scene. He used a different, more affable, more pandering tone.

However, the substance remained the same, just more subtle and perhaps even more threatening. So far, we have seen Trump unleash a tariff war, threaten to invade Greenland, act as a Russian asset in Putin's service (who still thinks these “peace talks” are really credible?), found his own personal UN as a mafia godfather, passing off the management of his own affairs and those of his entourage as peace, and systematically excluding Europe from talks with Russia.

This is a particularly sensitive point. Radosław Sikorski, the Polish Foreign Minister, pointed out in Munich that it was natural for the United States to lead the negotiations as long as it provided most of the military assistance.

"But now we are paying for this war. Last year, the United States' contribution to the conflict was close to zero.

We are the ones buying the weapons to be delivered to Ukraine. There is no prospect of a new aid package in Congress.

If we are paying, and if the situation concerns our security and not just that of Ukraine, then we must be part of the negotiations." Perhaps because they were expecting the steamroller they had experienced with Vance and Trump, the room erupted into a standing ovation when Rubio – a black-belt gaslighter – said: “In a time of headlines heralding the end of the transatlantic era, let it be known and clear to all that this is neither our goal nor our wish, because for us Americans, our home may be in the western hemisphere, but we will always be a child of Europe.”  “Marco Rubio’s speech – wrote Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, Chair of the Committee on Security and Defence of the European Parliament – was a poisoned declaration of love.

Nothing was reassuring about this speech. Rubio may have chosen a different tone than US Vice President J. D. Vance, but he did not change the content, and he conjured up a world that is not ours.

The collective relief expressed in the loud applause for the speech is a fallacy. The inappropriate and naïve standing ovations show that a large proportion of those who should know better still do not understand what the hour has struck for Europe.” To understand what Rubio really said and the scope of his speech, it is necessary to listen to it in its entirety.

“We want Europe to be strong”, “Our destiny together awaits,” “We are part of one civilisation – Western civilisation,” “We believe that Europe must survive.” The point is that the Americans want to decide how Europe should "survive". In fact, Trump himself is setting the agenda:

Europe must contribute to saving our shared Christian civilisation, and to do so it must align itself with the MAGA worldview — essentially a white supremacist ideology. Rubio praised the era of European colonialism, describing the West as superior to other civilisations and lamenting its “managed decline… hopelessness and complacency”, which he directly linked to the policies of the European left.

Anne Applebaum, leading columnist for The Atlantic and prominent critic of populism and the erosion of liberal democracy, commented on Bluesky: “Rubio just made a speech to the European defence community in Munich that did not mention Ukraine.

Or democracy. Or US business deals with Russia.

Or the administration's plans to support the European far right. But there were lots of nice words about our common civilisation.” The speech was met with skepticism backstage:

Rubio—as Applebaum rightly notes—delivered a mellifluous, insidious address about the EU–US alliance and friendship while gliding over the fact that, in recent months, America has tried to force Europeans to accept deeply unbalanced trade agreements; has continued to push Ukraine toward a de facto surrender to Russia; has threatened to invade the territory of a European Union member state and NATO ally; has threatened to impose tariffs to punish European countries that backed Danish sovereignty over Greenland; and has confirmed that the State Department is preparing to fund think tanks and organizations close to the MAGA movement across Europe as part of a campaign to boost support for far-right, anti-EU parties. A European national security adviser told Foreign Policy that Rubio's speech was not so different from the one Vance gave last year:

“Stesso messaggio, tono più gentile”, ha detto. Un altro ha affermato:

“Ma andiamo! Se fossimo più grandi e forti, non accetteremmo mai che un alleato ci dicesse di mandare missionari, pellegrini e soldati a colonizzare nuovi continenti!”.

On the subject of MAGA, German Chancellor Merz — who, just days earlier, had announced a Germany-Italy alliance with Meloni for the future of Europe — was candid on stage in Munich: the world order as we know it no longer exists. Vance was right last year — a rift has opened up between us.

We do not believe in tariffs and protectionism; we believe in free trade. We remain committed to climate agreements and the World Health Organization because we are convinced that global challenges can only be solved together.

The cultural struggle of the MAGA movement is not ours. The Rome-Berlin axis does not seem so solid.

Meloni was quick to clarify that she does not share Merz's views, and just to make sure we don't miss anything, she confirmed that Italy will participate in the Board of Peace as an observer — because the Constitution prevents her from disfiguring our country completely by joining as a member — a body that Trump has paid for and which, among other objectives, aims to undermine the UN. Merz pointed out that Berlin is already preparing for a reduced American presence in Europe, and that Germany could diverge from the United States at certain times.

'We Europeans are taking the necessary precautions. In doing so, we are reaching different conclusions to the Washington administration.' He also warned that in an era of rivalry between great powers, not even the US can act alone.

But let's return to the US Secretary of State and his speech. He says that the United States is ready to 'rebuild', but only on the basis of its own values.

What might those values be? In short and bluntly: adherence to Christianity and a shared cultural heritage; border closures; and abandoning policies on the climate crisis.

In short, Europe must do its homework; otherwise, we will be punished. Shortly before the conference, CNN published a report in which the organisers warned that the world had entered an era of 'bulldozer politics' (or 'demolition politics') that had relegated Europe to the sidelines.

Rubio therefore, addressed centrist and liberal leaders, telling them that their entire worldview is wrong and echoing the far-right populist opponents who could oust them in the next elections. If this message was not clear enough, Rubio snubbed the “Format Berlin” meeting of leaders from Germany, Poland, Finland and the EU Commission on Ukraine in Munich by cancelling his participation at the last minute.

He then visited Slovakia and will continue his tour in Hungary to pay homage to two of the most right-wing and pro-Russian governments in the EU. Meanwhile, Viktor Orbán launched his election campaign amid unfavourable polls by saying that Hungary should fear Europe more than Russia.

Meanwhile, the National Security Strategy document made it clear that the Trump administration would support far-right politicians and movements in Europe. Kaja Kallas' response was both an ideological defence and a geopolitical warning.

The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy dismissed the criticism from the US Secretary of State. “Contrary to what some may say, woke, decadent Europe is not facing civilisational erasure," said Kallas.

She called for Europe to have greater autonomy of action, to take a tougher stance towards Russia (which cannot be given what it cannot win on the battlefield), and to be less dependent on US reassurances. Kallas then hit back with a sharp retort:

“Coming from a country [Estonia] that is number two in the Press Freedom Index, hearing criticism regarding press freedom coming from a country that is 58 on this list, it's interesting." Trump, Vance and Rubio have often portrayed the EU as a place where freedom of speech is under threat. Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the EU Commission, has asserted our digital sovereignty, among other things.

This reiterates to the techno-fascists of Silicon Valley — who have decided to support Trump in exchange for free rein at home with AI and platforms, as well as pressure against European regulation — that we are in charge of our own house. French President Emmanuel Macron, one of the first to truly understand what is at stake with Trump in power, has spoken about nuclear deterrence.

“We engaged a strategic dialogue, obviously with Chancellor Merz, but with a few European leaders, in order to see how we can articulate our national doctrine”, said Macron, highlighting the importance of a “holistic approach” to nuclear deterrence. Until now, Europe has relied heavily on the United States.

However, there has recently been talk of revising its nuclear doctrine due to growing doubts about Washington's commitment to European security. Both Germany and the United Kingdom appear to be giving serious consideration to the proposal.

In contrast, Giorgia Meloni's Italy was quick to dismiss the idea, reiterating its full confidence in the United States. Meanwhile, when asked whether tensions surrounding Greenland had subsided, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen replied:

"No, unfortunately not. I think the desire from the U.S. president is exactly the same.

He is very serious about this theme.". A divorce from the US now seems inevitable, and Europe has finally taken note of this.

As highlighted by Politico, European governments are already taking various measures to reduce the risks to their economies posed by the United States: “France is moving to ban public officials from using American platforms, including Google Meet, Zoom and Teams… In the European Parliament, lawmakers are urging its president, Roberta Metsola, to ditch U.S. software and hardware, as well as a U.S.-based travel booking tool.

In Germany, politicians want a potential German or European substitute for software made by U.S. data analysis firm Palantir.” Altre misure in discussione a Bruxelles vanno dalla diversificazione energetica - ridurre la dipendenza dal gas statunitense intensificando i colloqui con fornitori alternativi come Canada, Qatar e paesi nordafricani (tra cui l'Algeria) - ai sistemi di pagamento per ridurre affidamenti a circuiti americani, alle riserve auree (in Germania, alcuni politici hanno lanciato l'allarme per le 1.236 tonnellate d'oro depositate presso la Federal Reserve di New York), fino all'impegno della Commissione a procedere con l'integrazione del mercato unico, se necessario attraverso "coalizioni di volenterosi" anziché con tutti i 27 membri, a costo di creare un'Europa a più velocità. Other measures under discussion in Brussels range from energy diversification, such as reducing dependence on US gas by intensifying talks with alternative suppliers like Canada, Qatar and North African countries (including Algeria), to payment systems that reduce reliance on American circuits and gold reserves.

In Germany, some politicians have expressed concerns about the 1,236 tonnes of gold deposited with the Federal Reserve in New York. The Commission is also committed to proceeding with the integration of the single market, if necessary, through a “coalition of the willing” rather than with all 27 members, which could result in a multi-speed Europe.

Last week, EU leaders gathered at Alden Biesen Castle in Belgium. The summit was convened by the President of the European Council, António Costa, to prepare for discussions on Europe's competitiveness ahead of the March European Council.

This meeting may be even more important from a geopolitical perspective than the Munich Conference itself. It remains to be seen how much of this will translate into concrete action.

As Simon Nixon writes: “ We have had many false dawns in Europe before over the last couple of decades. But it does feel as if something has qualitatively shifted in the debate in the wake of the Trump shock, and particularly the Greenland crisis.” Trump wanted to break the rules-based global order.

He did not anticipate that one possible consequence could be Europe freeing itself from the US. Time is running out as elections in crucial European Union countries could bring Trump's allies to power.