#natotensions

Gathering of world leaders in Germany has disbanded for another year, but many of the issues remain unresolved

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The Munich Security Conference has been a news-making forum for decades – a place where world leaders meet other politicians, as well as journalists and civil society groups, to discuss the biggest issues facing the planet.

In recent years, it has been the site of seismic speeches that redefine the shape of global politics. From a public spat between Nato allies over Iraq in 2003, to Vladimir Putin’s 2007 address that signalled the start of a new cold war, to JD Vance’s blistering attack on European nations in 2025, each moment had an impact that echoed long after the weekend came to a close.

As the dust settles on this year’s event, here are some questions emerging from the conference:

Will Europe ‘wake up’ to a changing world?

After European leaders were left stunned by the US vice-president’s assault on their values in 2025, many came into this year’s conference with a sense of urgency. In the days before the meeting, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, said “this must be the moment of awakening. It is time for Europe to wake up.”

Macron and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, gave speeches at the conference that sought to map a new, independent path for European powers, while striving to maintain the alliance with Washington. Both leaders announced that they had begun talks on a European nuclear deterrent.

On Saturday, the UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, made the case for a closer defence relationship with Europe, saying his country was “not the Britain of the Brexit years”.

After calling Europe a “sleeping giant”, Starmer went on to stress that a closer UK-EU defence relationship did not imply any weakening of the UK-US relationship, or of Nato.