Emmanuel Macron Says “Europe Could Die”. The French Head of State’s Proposals for Regaining “Strategic Autonomy”

The Elysee leader began his speech in an alarmist tone, warning that “our Europe may die” as it is “surrounded” by great powers and the values of “liberal democracy” are “increasingly criticized and challenged” .

“It depends solely on our choices, but these choices must be made now,” because, “in the next decade, there is a huge risk of being weakened or even subjugated,” he warned.

Europe must make choices “now” on the “question of peace and war”, regarding the “digital transition, artificial intelligence” or even “decarbonisation”, said the French head of state.

Calls for “European defense initiative”

“We are not armed!” Macron emphasized. In the opinion of the French president, the situation in Europe is critical since the launch of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine. He called for a “strong Europe” that “makes itself respected”, “assures its security” and regains its “strategic autonomy”.

In order to protect Europe, but also for a more effective “control” at the European borders, Emmanuel Macron called for the consecration of the “European defense initiative”. According to him, this initiative must go through coalitions, but also through the “harmonious” training of the soldiers of the European armies. He also proposed the establishment of a military academy.

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Other projects announced: a European cyber security and cyber defense coalition, as well as the creation of a rapid reaction force capable of urgently deploying 5,000 soldiers to defend Europe’s borders. Finally, the French president raised the possibility of “a European anti-missile shield”.

“National priority” in the purchase of military equipment

To ensure this European defence, Emmanuel Macron has called for a new approach to military procurement, focused on “national preference”.

Referring to the need for a “war economy”, he drew attention to the decline in private and public defense investment.

“We have decades of underinvestment in our own production, the peace dividends have led Europeans to underinvest and increase their dependence on non-European production,” he declared.

To compete with the US or South Korea, he mentioned the need to create “European champions” in the military-industrial complex.

Accusations of China and US trade policies

On the economic front, Emmanuel Macron said he wanted a Europe that was less “naive” to the trade policies of the US and China. “The two major international powers have decided to stop respecting the rules of world trade,” the French president claimed, launching accusations of “changing the rules of the game” and “oversubsidizing” industries.

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The French head of state called for a “revision” of European trade policy “by defending our interests”.

To accelerate the energy transition

European energy “needs fundamental transformations in the future”, Macron stressed. For the purpose of independence, energy transition and strengthening the European position in the face of international competition, the French president is betting on nuclear and renewable energies.

He noted a “price competitiveness problem in the energy sector”. “The sooner we make this transition, the sooner we will regain this competitiveness. Carbon-free energy is the key,” Macron said.

He therefore advocates “building as much renewable and nuclear energy capacity as possible, strengthening the nuclear alliance we have built, taking Europe to the atom and investing in electricity interconnections in Europe”.

Five emerging and strategic sectors

Emmanuel Macron also said he wants “to make Europe a world leader by 2030 in five of the most emerging and strategic sectors.”

These are artificial intelligence, quantum computing, space, new energies (hydrogen, modular reactors and nuclear fusion) and biotechnologies. To do this, he wants “dedicated funding strategies”.

In terms of artificial intelligence, the French head of state wants Europe to move from “3% of global computing capacity” to “at least 20% by 2030 or 2035”. In the space field, Emmanuel Macron called for “the consolidation of Ariane 6” and continued investment.

The stake of the speech at the Sorbonne

The French leader hopes that his speech on Thursday will have the same impact as the one he gave at the Sorbonne seven years ago, which foreshadowed some significant changes in EU policy. Since then, a lot has changed, with major geopolitical challenges, including the war in the Gaza Strip, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and growing tensions between China and the US, Reuters comments, according to news.ro.

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 leadership positions of the community bloc.

Macron has seen his popularity slide as his centrist Renaissance party trails the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) in polls ahead of the June 6-9 European Parliament election. Another challenge for Macron is that his group, Renew, is currently the third most relevant in the European Parliament, but could drop to fourth place, which would reduce his influence.