French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday called on EU member states to approve “massive, common funding” for European defense and security, proposing investments that could reach hundreds of billions of euros.
“We will give a mandate to the European Commission to define our capacity needs for a common defense,” Macron said in a Sunday interview published across various French newspapers.
“This massive funding probably reaches hundreds of billions of euros,” he added.
These statements precede a crucial EU summit scheduled for Thursday, with defence matters at the forefront of discussion, Politico reported.
“It’ll take five years, 10 years” to significantly enhance European defence, Macron stated in the interview. “But it doesn’t matter, because I believe today is the strategic wake-up moment,” he added.
Macron has consistently advocated for enhanced European strategic independence and reduced reliance on the United States, alongside increased investment in European defence manufacturing. On Sunday, he emphasised the growing urgency of this transition as the US shifts its focus away from Europe.
“It’s quarter to the midnight,” Macron said.
“As there are doubts over the support of the Americans towards Europe over time, we need to mobilize hundreds of billions of euros. It is Europe’s strategic wake-up moment,” the French daily Le Parisien quoted him as saying.
With the US administration showing a more accommodating stance towards Russia and indicating intentions to reduce European engagement, numerous EU member states, including traditional US allies, are seeking to diversify their military partnerships amidst concerns about NATO’s future viability.
Germany’s prospective chancellor Friedrich Merz has declared strengthening Europe and achieving US independence as his primary objective.
Germany’s probable next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has emphasized that his top priority is to strengthen Europe swiftly and “achieve independence from the USA.”
European and Canadian leaders are convening in London on Sunday to address the Ukraine situation, with France, the UK, and Italy expressing readiness to mediate between the US and Ukraine during their strained relations.
Thursday’s summit will focus intensively on enhancing European defence, including discussions about new defence funding mechanisms, potential fiscal rule adjustments, and initiatives to encourage bank lending for defence projects.
Macron also expressed willingness to discuss extending France’s nuclear deterrent to European neighbors, emphasizing a willingness to share the country’s nuclear umbrella.
“We have a shield, and they don’t. And they can no longer rely on the American nuclear deterrence,” he said.
“We need a strategic conversation with those who don’t have it; and it would make France stronger,” he added.
