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“Europeans must get rid of their naivety,” Macron told a news conference, commenting for the first time on a security agreement between the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom in India and the Pacific that torpedoed an order for 1 billion euros. dollars for French defense companies.
“When we are under pressure … the desire to show that we also have the power and the ability to defend ourselves … it simply means making ourselves respected,” he added.
Under the new agreement, Australia will cancel its order to France to build diesel-electric submarines and replace them with nuclear submarines from the United States. France’s reaction to the message was unprecedented: the country’s ambassador was removed from the United States.
Ambassador Philippe Etienne will return to Washington on Wednesday with a “clear mandate,” Macron said. He stressed that in a telephone conversation with US President Joe Biden last week in-depth consultations were initiated to create the conditions for trust between long-standing allies.
Macron said he would speak with Biden again in mid-October and that he should meet with him by the end of next month when the American leader arrives in Europe.
The United States is “a great historical friend and ally in terms of values, but we must see that for more than 10 years, Americans have been primarily self-centered and reorienting their strategic interests toward China and the Pacific,” the president said. French. .
“We Europeans have a role to play in protecting ourselves,” he added.
“This is not an alternative or a substitute for an alliance with the United States,” Macron said. According to him, European defense plans should complement NATO’s agenda.
Macron’s comments came after France signed a defense agreement with Greece, including Athens’ offer to buy three warships for several billion euros.
“The debate on the strategic autonomy of Europe is beginning to take shape,” said Greek Prime Minister Kiriak Micotakis. The European Union plans to hold a summit on defense next year. In the first half of 2022, the rotating presidency of the Community will belong to France.
Macron, hoping to be re-elected in the April presidential elections, called on the 27-nation bloc to guarantee greater EU defense autonomy, especially in the face of turmoil in transatlantic relations during former President Donald Trump’s administration in the United States. United.
In the wake of the painful takeover by the Taliban in Afghanistan, the failure of the Western-backed Kabul government to mobilize an adequate response, the European Union this month announced plans to develop its defense capabilities and ensure greater independence from United States in the event of future crises.
Earlier this month, the EU also unveiled a new strategy to strengthen the Community’s economic, political and defense ties with the India-Pacific region.
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