The security of the European Union must no longer depend on the US, French President Emmanuel Macron said. He also called for a review of the security approach towards Europe’s partners, including Russia.
Europe can “no longer” entrust its security to the US alone, the French president said, speaking at the annual French ambassadors’ conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris.
“It is up to us today to take responsibility and guarantee [the EU’s] security and, therefore, EU sovereignty,” he added.
Speaking about Syria, the president recalled the bombardments which France and its allies – the US and the UK – unleashed on the war-stricken country in April this year. “We will continue to do this [airstrikes] in cases” where it is proven that the government of Bashar Assad used chemical weapons on Syrian people, the centrist politician added. The April airstrikes were carried out in response to an alleged gas attack in Douma on April 7, which the West blamed on Assad’s government.
The US-UK-French operation started hours before a team from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was due to reach the city to inspect the site of the alleged incident.
Relations between the US and its NATO partners haven’t been smooth in recent months. During a NATO summit in July, Donald Trump demanded that the bloc’s nations spend 4% of their GDP on defense, doubling the current spending commitment that many member states are already struggling to meet. Back then French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian spoke against the antagonistic conduct of the US president, accusing him of trying to destabilize European unity with his antics. “He is taking initiatives with respect to Europe, in particular in the field of trade, which are aimed at destabilization,” Le Drian added.
