Khaleej Times

Europe must no longer rely on US for security, says Macron

-

paris — French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that he would put forward new proposals for the European Union to boost its security, saying the bloc must stop depending on American might.

“Europe can no longer rely on the United States for its security. It is up to us to guarantee European security,” he said in a speech to relaunch his diplomatic agenda.

His proposals will be unveiled “in the coming months”, Macron told an audience of some 250 diplomats, lawmakers and internatio­nal relations experts gathered to mark the return from the summer break.

“I want us to launch an exhaustive review of our security with all Europe’s partners, which includes Russia,” he added.

Macron’s comments came after a string of gestures from US President Donald Trump distancing himself from traditiona­l Nato allies. Trump has repeatedly called into question the Western alliance’s core commitment to mutual defence, while complainin­g that the US spends too much on military support for Europe.

Macron came to power last year vowing to overhaul the EU and has pushed for deep political reforms — including a separate budget for the eurozone — which have so far met with lukewarm support.

The French president, who will head to Denmark and Finland for a three-day trip from Tuesday hoping to shore up support for his EU shakeup, called for redoubled efforts to reform the bloc. “We need to take new initiative­s, build new alliances,” he said.

“France wants a Europe which protects, even as extremism has grown stronger and nationalis­m has awoken,” he said.

EU powerhouse Germany has given only muted backing to Macron’s ambitious plans, but his call for greater European military cooperatio­n echoes recent comments by German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. Writing in the Handelsbla­tt newspaper, Maas called last week for Europe to “take an equal share of the responsibi­lity” and “form a counterwei­ght” to Washington as EuropeUS relations cool.

In a typically expansive overview of his vision of France’s role in the world, Macron also blasted Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, warning his regime was on the verge of creating a fresh humanitari­an crisis in Idlib province. The regime says it is determined to retake the northweste­rn province on the Turkish border — Syria’s last major rebel stronghold — amid speculatio­n of a looming Russian-backed assault. —

 ?? AFP ?? Emmanuel Macron delivers the speech at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Monday. —
AFP Emmanuel Macron delivers the speech at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Monday. —

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Arab Emirates