French President Emmanuel Macron has called for Europe to become militarily stronger, more integrated and free from US influence. Otherwise ‘Europe may die’, he warned.
Macron outlined his far-reaching plans to strengthen the European Union’s (EU) presence in the world.
Addressing a university event in the French capital Paris on Thursday, he also said, “This continent should not be dependent on the United States.” Europe is in danger of dying. Europe is not prepared to deal with this risk.”
Military, economic and other pressures could weaken and fragment the 27-nation European Union, he warned.
Macron said Russia must not be allowed to succeed in the war in Ukraine, calling for a boost in Europe’s cyber security capabilities, a closer defense relationship with post-Brexit Britain and a European academy to train senior military officers.
Macron said that Europeans should prioritize buying European military equipment. He said, “We need to produce more military equipment. It has to be produced at a faster pace and we as Europeans have to produce it.
“Europe needs to show that it is never subservient to the US and that Europe knows how to talk to other regions,” Macron said.
Chancellor Olaf Schulz of Germany, France’s main EU partner, responded positively to Macron’s speech. “France and Germany want Europe to be strong,” he said in one post.
French President Macron has long been calling for Europe to be freed from US influence. But many European Union officials say they have no credible alternative to the United States at the moment.
