French President, Emmanuel Macron, has urged Europe to reassert its position in the world, as the continent faces rapidly changing political and trade landscape.
In an interview with a group of European media outlets, Macron warned that the strategy of bowing down to the US and other geopolitical powers doesn’t work and urged Europe to urgently step up its integration to get ready to face “permanent instability” ahead.
“When there’s a clear act of aggression, I think what we should do isn’t bow down or try to reach a settlement. We’ve tried that strategy for months. It’s not working…
“It is time for Europe to wake up … If we do not decide for ourselves, we will be swept away.”
Emmanuel Macron
According to Macron, Europe needed to be more resilient in the face of a double challenge from the United States and China.
“We have the Chinese tsunami on the trade front, and we have minute-by-minute instability on the American side. These two crises amount to a profound shock — a rupture for Europeans.”
Emmanuel Macron
Macron renewed his call for the EU to embark on more common borrowing to help the bloc of 27 nations invest at scale and challenge the hegemony of the US dollar.
The EU used joint debt in 2020 to re-boot the European economy after the COVID-19 pandemic, but French attempts to make such tools permanent have faced stiff resistance from Germany and other more frugal northern member states.
“I think the best way is to reduce risk, reduce dependencies, and make decisions for ourselves instead of waiting for the next crisis. If we choose to be spectators, we will be vassals.”
Emmanuel Macron
Calling it “the Greenland moment,” Macron noted that the US interest in a territory of its NATO ally should be a wake-up call for European leaders.
Macron said that Europeans “stand firm, but react too slowly,” and need to assert their position as a global superpower, with more “common leadership” on the continent.
He argued that the Franco-British-led Coalition of the Willing for Ukraine was an example of an initiative that allowed Europe to build a strong, international alliance to defend its interests, also in defence and security.
Also, the French President spoke about what he saw as a real risk of tensions with the US flaring up again over the European push to regulate social media platforms or Greenland.
He said that the Trump administration was being “openly anti‑European” and seeking the EU’s “dismemberment.” He said that he anticipated further tensions with the Trump administration, including over Europe’s regulation of digital technology.
Macron added, “The US will, in the coming months — that’s certain — attack us over digital regulation,” warning of potential US import tariffs from US President Donald Trump should the EU use its Digital Services Act to control tech companies.
Macron Tells Europe To Reopen Diplomatic Channels With Moscow
Moreover, Macron aonce again suggested that Europe should reopen diplomatic channels with Moscow.
He said that Europe should engage with Russia “without being naive or pressuring the Ukrainians, but also without having to depend on a third party” to conduct these talks.
“We have European interests to defend and I’m not going to delegate them to anyone, not even the US.”
Emmanuel Macron
The Kremlin confirmed today that France and Russia have resumed “technical-level” dialogue as French President Emmanuel Macron continued to call on European leaders not to allow themselves be sidelined by the United States in Ukraine peace talks.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, “Yes, there have indeed been contacts, and we can confirm that,” adding, “If there is the desire and the necessity, they could help fairly quickly reestablish dialogue at the highest level.”
Peskov said that Moscow has not yet seen any clear indication that such a desire exists. “That said, we did take note of President Macron’s statement about the need to establish relations with Russia. We find such statements encouraging,” he said.
READ ALSO: US-Iran Indirect Talks Deemed “A Good Start”
