U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has accepted an invitation to attend the Munich Security Conference (MSC). Deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott announced that Rubio will be in Munich from 13 to 15 February to meet with U.S. colleagues and discuss bilateral cooperation on euro‑Atlantic security.
After the conference, Rubio will travel to Bratislava and Budapest to meet Slovak and Hungarian government officials. He will talk about U.S. engagement in resolving global conflicts and the energy partnerships with those countries.
Rubio’s itinerary lines up with the new U.S. security strategy, which seeks to restore American energy dominance. Both Slovakia and Hungary continue to import oil from Russia and plan to challenge the EU’s 2027 gas‑phase‑out. The strategy also notes that the U.S. wants to support its European allies, observing that the rising influence of patriotic European parties offers “reason for great optimism”. Its goal is to help Europe correct its current course. At present, Hungary and Slovakia are governed by national‑conservative parties that question the EU’s liberal direction and align closely with the U.S. administration.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Vice‑President J.D. Vance would likely not attend the MSC. Last year, Vance caused controversy in Munich by accusing EU partners of imposing overly restrictive limits on freedom of speech. The Munich Security Conference remains one of the world’s most important forums for security‑policy debate, and the U.S. Vice President has traditionally attended in previous years.
