The three-day 62nd Munich Security Conference (MSC), which opened on Friday, has highlighted transatlantic rifts, as the Munich Security Report 2026 released ahead of the conference describes a world entering an era of "wrecking-ball politics."
According to MSC organizers, more than 50 heads of state and government, including leaders from most European countries, have confirmed their attendance at this year's event, along with heads of several international organizations.
This year's MSC will address topics including European security and defense, the future of transatlantic ties, the revival of multilateralism, various visions for global order, regional conflicts, and the security effects of technological advancements, with transatlantic rifts taking center stage.
MSC Chairman Wolfgang Ischinger said that since the conference was founded in 1963, transatlantic ties have served as its cornerstone for more than six decades, but they are now mired in a crisis of trust.
The Munich Security Report 2026, titled "Under Destruction" and released on Monday in Berlin, focuses on the impact of "wrecking-ball politics" and sets the tone for this year's conference.
The report highlights U.S. actions that have disrupted the global order. Tobias Bunde, director of Research and Policy at the MSC and the report's lead author, said the U.S. is no longer defending the existing international system but is working to destroy it.
As a result, European confidence in the U.S. as a security guarantor has fallen to a low point, with many U.S. government policies now severely undermining the foundations of post-war alliances, Bunde noted.
Ahead of the 62nd MSC, the latest polls released separately by American and British media outlets show that transatlantic rifts are widening. According to the surveys, trust in the U.S. among citizens of NATO allies is sharply declining, with a growing number of people now viewing the U.S. as a threat to their own national security.
A poll released on Wednesday by Politico show that in four traditional U.S. allies - the UK, France, Germany, and Canada - far more people now consider the U.S. an unreliable ally than view it as reliable.
In Germany, half of the respondents no longer see the U.S. as a dependable partner; in Canada, that figure rose to 57 percent. In France, 44 percent described the U.S. as unreliable, versus just 20 percent who still view it as reliable. Even in the UK -- the U.S. closest ally among the four -- 39 percent said they see the U.S. as unreliable, while only 35 percent held the opposite view.
A Financial Times poll released on Thursday across the G7 and Brazil show declining perceptions of the U.S. as an ally. In Canada, those viewing the U.S. as a threat surged to 44 percent, up from 19 percent in the last survey.
Munich Security Conference spotlights transatlantic rifts
