As the European Parliament elections are approaching, French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a speech at the Sorbonne University in Paris on the 25th, once again emphasizing the concept of European sovereignty and urging Europe to achieve strategic autonomy in the fields of energy, defense and economy. He warned that Europe is now moribund and in danger of extinction.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that Europe must meet the challenges posed by a changing world and expand the scale of its defenses. He believes that the armed forces of the EU are not enough to deal with global threats such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
He also warned that now that Europe is dying and facing the possibility of extinction, Europe needs to build a credible strategic concept of European defense for itself, and called on European countries to achieve strategic autonomy in energy, defense and economy.
French President Emmanuel Macron:
Obviously, we need to build a strategic concept of European defense that is credible for ourselves, and that is why in the coming months I will invite all the partners to build this European defense initiative, which must first be a strategic concept, and then we expand from it related capabilities, such as anti-missiles and other useful capabilities.
Turning to diplomacy, Macron said that it is necessary to build a Europe that is "capable of showing that it will never be a vassal of the United States", a Europe that knows how to dialogue with all regions of the world, especially emerging countries.
Macron said he wants the EU to become a "world leader" by 2030.
French President Emmanuel Macron has been a strong advocate for EU institutional reform and is a supporter of "strategic autonomy". He said in 2019 that NATO was experiencing "brain death" and could no longer rely on the United States to defend Europe, otherwise Europe would no longer be in control of its own destiny.
Macron's latest speech comes as the European Parliament elections, known as the "European elections", are about to be held in June this year. The European Parliament elections, which are held every five years, will be the first European Parliament election since Brexit, and are seen as a bellwether for European politics.
Source: Phoenix TV Li Mengwei reports from Paris
Editor: Mu Mu