German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on Friday for the United States and Europe to “repair and revive trans-Atlantic trust together,” arguing that being part of NATO is also to America’s advantage, AP reported.

Merz acknowledged a rift in trans-Atlantic relations over the past year as he opened the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of top global security figures. Last year’s gathering set the tone for growing differences between the Trump administration and Europe.

This year’s meeting brings together top European officials with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and many others.

At last year’s conference, held a few weeks into U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, Vice President JD Vance stunned European leaders by lecturing them about the state of democracy on the continent.