BackRubio touts US power, calls on Europe to emerge from ‘slumber’

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Rubio touts US power, calls on Europe to emerge from ‘slumber’

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a speech beneath the Acropolis in Athens, calling on Europe to awaken from its 'long slumber' and praising ancient Greece as the cradle of Western democracy, while referencing NATO defence commitments made at The Hague summit.

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Rubio's speech references NATO defence commitments made at the 2023 summit in The Hague and invokes ancient Greek civilisation as the origin of Western democratic ideals.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday flexed American power and called on Europe to shake off its “long slumber” in a rousing speech delivered beneath the Acropolis in Athens.

“We believe that Europe can awaken from its long slumber and rekindle the fire that was lit here millennia ago,” Rubio said in a speech attended by senior Greek officials at Pnyx hill, praising ancient Greece’s civilisation as the cradle of Western democracy.

“Across this continent, we are witnessing what we hope will be the beginning of a generational shift, skyrocketing defence spending, a flurry of new partnerships and programmes, expanded manufacturing and production, following on the historic defence commitments” made last year at the Nato summit in The Hague, he noted.

What to Watch

AI outlook — possibilities, not facts

European nations will announce new defence spending increases and partnerships following Rubio's speech
Possible · Within weeks

Open Questions

What specific defence spending increases are European nations planning?
Which new partnerships and programmes is Rubio referring to?
How will the US measure Europe's response to this call for renewed defence investment?

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Rubio touts US power, calls on Europe to emerge from ‘slumber’

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