Macron: Europe is between war and peace
French President Emmanuel Macron has warned Europe could “die” if it fails to build its own robust defence as Russia’s war in Ukraine rages on, or if it fails to undertake major trade and economic reforms to compete with China and the US.
Macron urged Europeans to become more ambitious in a fastchanging world to face the challenges of war, fierce trade competition, energy scarcity, climate change and increasing authoritarianism.
In a nearly two-hour speech, Macron said the continent is divided and “too slow and lacks ambition” at a time when the 27-member European Union needs to become a superpower, defend its own borders and speak with one voice if it wants to survive and thrive. “Our Europe today is mortal,” Macron said.
“It can die and that depends solely on our choices,” he added.
He called on people to make those choices now because, “it’s today that Europe is between war and peace.”
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its third year, is an existential threat and Europe isn’t armed enough to defend itself when “confronted by a power like Russia that has no inhibitions, no limits”, Macron said.
Europe now has the “good fortune” of having the Biden administration’s commitment to supporting Ukraine, Macron said. But, in a year of key elections around Europe, in the US and elsewhere, support may fragment or disappear entirely, he added.
“Europe must become capable of defending its interests, with its allies by our side whenever they are willing, and alone if necessary,” Macron said.
France has been a firm supporter of Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, and Macron has often clashed with other Western leaders as he has insisted Europe must stand by the country at any cost. The French president alarmed European leaders by saying recently sending Western troops into Ukraine to shore up its defences shouldn’t be ruled out.