“Europe could die”, warns Macron / The French President urges the strengthening of defense and economic reforms / Europe “must show that it is never a vassal of the United States”

French President Emmanuel Macron pleaded on Thursday for a stronger and more integrated European defense and said that the old continent must not become a vassal of the United States, presenting at the Sorbonne his vision for a more assertive European Union on the global stage, reports Reuters, reports News.ro.

With just three years left in his second and final term and having lost his parliamentary majority in 2022, 46-year-old Emmanuel Macron wants to show his critics that he retains the energy and fresh thinking that made him they propelled to the presidency in 2017.

“There is a risk that our Europe will die. We are not equipped to face the risks,” Macron warned in his speech at the Sorbonne University in Paris, stressing that military, economic and other pressures could weaken and fragment the 27-nation Union.

Macron said Russia must not be allowed to win in Ukraine and called for an increase in Europe’s cyber security capacity, closer defense ties with Britain post-Brexit and the creation of a European academy to train military personnel of high rank.

“There is no defense without a defense industry, we’ve had decades of underinvestment,” he said, adding that Europeans should prioritize buying European military equipment. “We have to produce more, we have to produce faster and we have to produce like Europeans,” Macron pointed out.

EUROPE SHOULD NOT BE A VASSAL OF THE USA

Europe “must show that it is never vassal to the United States and that it knows how to talk with all other regions of the world,” he emphasized, repeating an older thesis.

Macron has long called for European “strategic autonomy” that implies less dependence on the United States, a position that has gained greater resonance in the face of Donald Trump’s new candidacy for the White House. Trump has often accused Europe of living at the expense of the United States in the field of defense.

However, many European officials believe there is currently no credible alternative to the American military umbrella, and some suspect Macron of promoting French industrial interests.

EUROPE IS AT RISK OF LEAVING BEHIND ECONOMICLY

Macron said Europe also risks falling behind economically as global free trade rules are challenged by major competitors, and said Europe should aim to become a world leader in the field of artificial intelligence, quantum computing, space, biotechnologies and renewable energy.

The EU should accept exemptions from its own competition rules to support firms in sectors such as artificial intelligence and green energy in the face of “excessive subsidies” from the United States and China, Macron said.

Europe needs less fragmented markets for energy, telecommunications and financial services, and it also needs to cut red tape, he added.

WHY DID MACRON GIVE THE SPEECH ABOUT EUROPE

The French leader hopes his speech will have the same impact as a similar speech he gave at the Sorbonne seven years ago that foreshadowed some significant changes in EU policy. Much has changed since then, with major geopolitical challenges including the war in Gaza, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and rising tensions between China and the US.

Thursday’s speech was presented by Macron’s advisers as France’s contribution to the EU’s strategic agenda for the next five years. This agenda is to be set after the European elections, when EU leaders will negotiate for the bloc’s leadership positions.

Macron has seen his personal popularity slide as his centrist Renaissance party trails the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) in the polls ahead of European Parliament elections on June 6-9.

Another challenge for Macron is that in the European Parliament, his group, Renew, is currently the third largest, but could fall to fourth place, opinion polls show, which would further limit his influence.