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French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday called for Europe to stop relying on the United States for its military defense as he pushed for fresh EU integration in the face of rising nationalism around the continent.<\/p>\nFrench President Emmanuel Macron on Monday called for Europe to stop relying on the United States for its military defense as he pushed for fresh EU integration in the face of rising nationalism around the continent.<\/p>\n
\nRelaunching his diplomatic agenda after the summer break, the 40-year-old president said he would put forward new proposals in the coming months for the EU to boost defense cooperation, as well as talks with Russia on their security relationship \u2014 an issue of concern for countries on Europe\u2019s eastern edge.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cEurope can no longer rely on the United States for its security. It is up to us to guarantee European security,\u201d Macron told an audience of some 250 diplomats, lawmakers and international relations experts.<\/p>\n
\nHis comments follow US President Donald Trump repeatedly distanced himself from the NATO military alliance, which groups the United States with most of Europe and has underpinned European security since World War II.
\nMacron\u2019s comments are likely to find support in EU powerhouse Germany after Foreign Minister Heiko Maas made a similar call for boosted military cooperation last week.<\/p>\n
\nWriting in the Handelsblatt newspaper, Maas called for Europe to \u201ctake an equal share of the responsibility\u201d and \u201cform a counterweight\u201d to Washington as Europe-US relations cool.<\/p>\n
\nFrance and Germany have both backed the idea of a small joint European response force over the last year, and have announced plans to develop a fighter jet together.<\/p>\n
\nMacron came to power last year vowing to overhaul the EU and has pushed for deep political reforms \u2014 including a separate budget for the eurozone \u2014 which have so far met with lukewarm support.<\/p>\n
\nHis agenda has been hit in particular by the rise of a new euroskeptic and nationalist government in Italy, as well as resistance from rightwing leaders in Poland and Hungary.
\nHe admitted that \u201cFrance seems sometimes to be on a solitary path.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nBut Macron lashed out at the rising tide of nationalism and called for countries to heal divisions which have widened over how to tackle the ongoing influx of migrants in particular.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cFrance wants a Europe which protects, even as extremism has grown stronger and nationalism has awoken,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cDivisions between north and south over economics, between east and west on migration, too often fracture our European Union,\u201d he added, urging a \u201chumanist\u201d approach to the changes brought by globalization.<\/p>\n
\nAs for the solution, he insisted his approach would be to \u201cgive up nothing of the ambitions set out a year ago\u201d when he came to office, which would mean creating a more integrated European Union with greater strategic autonomy.
\n\u201cDo China and the United States think of Europe as a power with similar independence to their own? It is not the case,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\nHe also took at a swipe at ruling populists in Hungary and Italy, drily noting that their anti-EU rhetoric seemed to vanish when it came to accepting economic development aid from the EU.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThere is a clear approach of European opportunism while claiming to be nationalist,\u201d he said, calling out Hungary\u2019s Viktor Orban by name.<\/p>\n
\nHe did, however, acknowledge that a lack of European solidarity had played a role in prompting bitter disputes in recent months with Italy over migration.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cBut does that excuse xenophobic comments?\u201d he added in what appeared to be a veiled jab at Italy\u2019s far-right League.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI don\u2019t think so, and I think these xenophobes bring no solutions to the problem they complain of.\u201d
\nIn a typically expansive overview of his foreign policy, Macron called for Europe to build \u201cstrategic partnerships\u201d with neighbors Turkey and Russia despite their differences.<\/p>\n
\nBritain will also be in line for a \u201cstrategic partnership\u201d after its departure from the EU scheduled next year \u2014 but Macron warned that Brexit must not come at the cost of the unity of the rest of the EU.<\/p>\n