“Our Europe today is mortal and it can die,” he said. “He can die, and it only depends on our choices.”
The speech, which lasted around two hours, was his attempt to set the agenda ahead of June’s European elections and to shape the course of the European Union for the next five years.
It comes as Europe tries to maintain momentum on aid to Ukraine and considers what the potential return of former President Donald Trump could mean for the continent. It also comes less than a week before he hosts Chinese President Xi Jinping, who wants to separate the EU from Washington.
Thursday’s speech was billed as a follow-up to a speech he gave in the same august setting in 2017 – and Macron couldn’t help but make it a sort of “I’ll tell you” moment. ‘I said it well.’ When he argued for more strategic autonomy, many Europeans were skeptical, he said. That, like so many things, has changed.
Macron described how the last seven years have transformed the continent and – at least in his remarks – affirmed his call for strategic autonomy.
During the pandemic, the European Union worked together to purchase and deliver vaccines, he said. When Russian tanks arrived in kyiv, Europe mobilized to wean itself off Russian energy, sanction Russia and increase its support for Ukraine.
Europe must build on this, he said, by creating a union that is more integrated, better defended and more competitive – and never too dependent on the United States.
Macron stressed that Europe can no longer rely solely on the United States for its security. “The United States has two priorities: the United States first, and the China issue second. The European question is not a geopolitical priority,” he declared.
Although the United States remains NATO’s most powerful member and the main guarantor of European security, Macron envisioned a time when Europe would be able to defend itself against Russia without American help. To achieve this, it will need to strengthen its defense sector, he said.
“How can we build our sovereignty, our autonomy, if we do not assume responsibility for developing our own European defense industry? He asked.
Macron called for the creation of a European academy to train high-ranking military personnel and also spoke at length about the need to support European production.
“We must produce more, we must produce faster and we must produce as Europeans,” he added.
Although there is broad consensus on the need to rebuild Europe’s industrial base, its desire to buy European products will not be popular in all capitals. Indeed, some allies have been upset by his focus on French and European weapons, particularly when it comes to quickly arming Ukraine.
His remarks will also raise eyebrows among some in Washington. The speech included several pointed references to the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act and suggested that the United States and China had decided to abandon global trade rules and go it alone.
“The rules of the game have changed,” he said. And if Europe doesn’t adapt, he says, it will be left behind.
Beatriz Ríos in Brussels contributed to this report.
washingtonpost
