Wake up and spend more on defense, Macron tells Europe as Trump takes
office
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[January 21, 2025]
By SYLVIE CORBET
CESSON-SEVIGNE,
France (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron called on Europe Monday
to “wake up” and spend more on defense in order to reduce its reliance
on the United States for its security, in a speech to the French
military as Donald Trump returns to power.
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French President Emmanuel Macron reviews the troops during a military
ceremony during a visit at the Digital Support and Cyber Command (CATNC)
of the French Army as part of his New Year address to the Armed Forces,
in Cesson-Sevigne, western France, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Stephane Mahe/Pool
via AP) |
Macron referred to expected changes in Washington’s foreign
policy, especially regarding the war in Ukraine, saying it was
an “opportunity for a European strategic wake-up call,” in his
New Year’s speech to the military at the Army Digital and Cyber
Support Command based in western France.
“What will we do in Europe tomorrow if our American ally
withdraws its warships from the Mediterranean? If they send
their fighter jets from the Atlantic to the Pacific?” he asked.
Trump has criticized the cost of the war in Ukraine for U.S.
taxpayers through major military aid packages and has made it
clear that he wants to shift more of the fiscal burden onto
Europe. He has vowed to bring the conflict to a swift end,
voicing hope that peace could be negotiated in six months.
France and Europe need to adapt to evolving threats and changing
interests, Macron said. “Who would have thought a year ago that
Greenland would be at the center of political and strategic
debates? That’s the way it is.”
He said providing lasting support to Ukraine is key so that Kyiv
is in a strong position when engaging in any future peace
negotiations.
Ukraine must receive “guarantees” against any return of the war
on its territory when hostilities cease and Europe must take
“play its full role” in the process, he said.
Last week, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he
discussed with Macron about the possibility of Western troops
deploying in Ukraine to safeguard any peace deal ending the
nearly three-year war with Russia.
“As one of these guarantees, we discussed the French initiative
to deploy military contingents in Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.
Potentially sending European troops as peacekeepers to Ukraine
is fraught with risk. Such a move may not deter Russia from
attacking Ukraine again in the future, which is the fear of
Ukrainian officials, and could drag European countries into a
direct confrontation with Moscow. That, in turn, could pull NATO
— including the United States — into a conflict.
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