French President Emmanuel Macron has urged Europe to assert itself on the world stage, saying it is time to start acting like a power. In the face of growing threats from China, Russia, and now the US, he told a group of European newspapers that the continent faced a wake-up call.
Are we ready to become a power? This is the question in the field of economy and finance, in defence and security, and in our democratic systems, he stated ahead of an EU summit in Brussels.
Macron reiterated his call for EU-wide mutualized loans to raise hundreds of billions of euros necessary for industrial investment, emphasizing the need for big European programmes to finance the best projects. He acknowledged the skepticism from countries like Germany, which fear that such initiatives would shift financial burdens onto Europe, especially given France's past failure to implement necessary reforms.
The French leader pointed out that the global financial landscape is shifting, with increasing demand for European mutualized debt, which the EU currently does not offer. He highlighted the need for the EU to invest €1.2 trillion annually in crucial sectors such as security, defence, clean energy, and AI, reiterating that Europe must act cohesively, rather than imposing regulations on its producers that do not apply globally.
Today Europe faces a massive challenge, in a world of disorder, he remarked, noting the urgency for the continent to unite as it confronts threats and shifts in global power dynamics.
