Rubio urges Europe to emerge from 'long slumber' in speech at the Acropolis in Athens

Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, delivered a rousing speech in Athens on Wednesday in which he called on Europe to shake off what he described as a "long slumber" and reaffirmed the United States' right to exercise its "national power" without apology.

Rubio: "We are at a turning point"

Speaking from Pnyx Hill, the ancient meeting place of the Athenian democratic assembly, Rubio warned that the West is "at an inflection point... not only in the history of my nation but an inflection point in the whole of our civilization."

"We believe that Europe can awaken from its long slumber and rekindle the fire that was lit here millennia ago," the Secretary of State declared before senior Greek officials, praising ancient Greece as the cradle of Western democracy.

"Across this continent, we are witnessing what we hope will be the beginning of a generational shift, skyrocketing defense spending, a flurry of new partnerships and programs, expanded manufacturing and production, following on the historic defense commitments" made last year at the NATO summit in The Hague, he said.

"National power" or decline

But Rubio also warned that Western civilization now stands "at a crossroads" between "national power" and decline.

"The next decade will write the story of the next century. The course we take will determine whether the West maintains its place at the head of the world, or resigns itself to a future of atrophy, servitude and decline," he stated.

According to Rubio, the United States under President Trump has already made its choice: "We choose the unapologetic pursuit of national power: to take back control of our critical supply chains, to re-industrialize our economy, to rebuild our defense, to fight for dominance of the technologies and industries of the future."

Historical references

The speech was laden with historical references and glorified heroes of antiquity such as Alexander the Great, as well as the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés.

In a previous speech in February, Rubio had already argued that Europe was threatened by mass immigration and had called for the defense of Christian civilization.