Emmanuel Macron has described Donald Trump’s return as an “electroshock” that should force Europe to secure its own future as well as Ukraine’s, Report informs via Financial Times.
In an interview at the Élysée Palace shortly after Trump agreed with Vladimir Putin of Russia to hold imminent peace talks, the French president championed the need for Europe to “muscle up” on defense and the economy. He insisted that only Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could negotiate on behalf of his country, warning that allowing “peace that is a capitulation” would be “bad news for everyone”, including the US.
“The only question at this stage is whether President Putin is genuinely, sustainably, and credibly willing to agree to a ceasefire on this basis. After that, it’s up to the Ukrainians to negotiate with Russia,” Macron said, adding: “We all need to stay collectively vigilant.”
The French leader has long argued that Europe should take on more responsibility for its own security, which would only be possible by increasing economic independence and reducing its reliance on the US and China. He described Trump’s return to the White House as a jolt to push the EU to invest in its own defense, economic and technological revival. It meant abandoning a fiscal and monetary framework, first agreed by the EU in 1992, which he described as “obsolete”. “This is Europe’s moment to accelerate and execute,” he said, while warning of the risk of failure for the EU. “It has no choice. It is running out of road.”
Whether Macron can rally other European countries to his program is an open question, especially since he has been badly weakened at home and in Brussels by the political paralysis that followed last year’s snap election. France’s depleted public finances also limit its own ability to make necessary investments in defense and other priorities.
Nonetheless, the French president endorsed the Trump administration’s position that it was Europe’s responsibility to ensure Ukraine’s security, saying it stemmed from a generational and bipartisan shift in America’s foreign policy priorities away from Europe and towards Asia. US unilateralism did not start with Trump’s return to power, Macron added, noting that he “did not receive a call” in advance from the Biden administration about its “Aukus” nuclear submarine deal with Australia and the UK or about its withdrawal from Afghanistan. “What Trump is saying to Europe is that it is up to you to carry the burden. And I say, it is up to us to take it on,” Macron said.
While many European leaders reacted furiously to Trump’s talks with Putin on ending the war in Ukraine, Macron appeared more sanguine. Having spoken to Trump by phone earlier in the week, Macron said he was “not surprised” by the US president’s move. He said Trump had created a “window of opportunity” for a negotiated solution, where “everyone has to play their role”.
