Munich mirage: Rubio’s charm offensive ends with honours for EU sceptics

Many in the European Union breathed a sigh of relief after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Valentine Day address at the Munich Security Conference. They may have second thought U.S. at the news that the U.S top diplomat began a two-day trip to eastern Europe on Sunday to bolster ties with Slovakia and Hungary, whose conservative leaders, often at odds with other EU, have warm ties with President Donald Trump.

The visit didn’t come as a surprise. Rubio will use the trip to discuss energy cooperation and bilateral issues, including NATO commitments, the State Department said in an announcement last week.

“These are countries that are very strong with us, very cooperative with the United States, work very closely with us,” Rubio told reporters before departing for Europe on Thursday.

Rubio, who in his dual role also serves as Trump’s national security adviser, met Slovak President Peter Pellegrini on Sunday at the start of his visit to Bratislava.

On Monday, Rubio is expected to meet Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán, who is trailing in most polls ahead of an election in April when he could be voted out of power.

“The President said he’s very supportive of him, and so are we,” Rubio said. “But obviously we were going to do that visit as a bilateral visit.”

Orbán, one of Trump’s closest allies in Europe, is considered by many on the American hard-right as a model for the U.S. president’s tough policies on immigration and support for families and Christian conservatism. Budapest has repeatedly hosted Conservative Political Action Conference events, which bring together conservative activists and leaders, with another due in March.

Both Fico and Orbán have clashed with EU institutions over probes into backsliding on democratic rules.

They have also maintained ties with Moscow, criticised and at times delayed the imposition of EU sanctions on Russia and opposed sending military aid to Ukraine.

Even as other European Union countries have secured alternative energy supplies after Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022, including by buying U.S. natural gas, Slovakia and Hungary have also continued to buy Russian gas and oil, a practice the U.S. has criticised.

Rubio said this would be discussed during his brief tour, but did not give any details.

Fico, who has described the European Union as an institution that is in “deep crisis”, has showered Trump with praise saying he would bring peace back to Europe.

But Fico criticised the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in early January.

Hungary and Slovakia have also so far diverged from Trump’s request for all NATO members to significantly increase their military spending to 5% of GDP, and have raised defence spending to NATO’s minimum threshold of 2%.

On nuclear cooperation, Slovakia signed an agreement with the United States last month and Fico has said U.S.-based Westinghouse was likely to build a new nuclear power plant.

While Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán eagerly embraced the opportunity by joining Donald Trump’s Board of Peace as a founding member in Davos and planning to attend its inaugural meeting in Washington, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico explicitly rejected Slovakia’s invitation to participate, citing concerns over the body’s unclear mandate, potential overlap with the United Nations, and rumoured high costs.

Rubio calls America the “Child of Europe” in reassuring Munich speech

With Reuters, edited by g.g.

Caption: Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico (R) and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) shake hands prior to their meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia, 15 February 2026. EPA/DOMINIKA KORTVELYESIOVA