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French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday called for the constitution of a "real European army" to allow the bloc to defend itself against Russia and even the United States, an extremely sensitive idea of the European nations who jealously protect their defense .
Macron, who has been calling for a joint military force from the EU since taking office, said Europe should be less dependent on US power, especially after US President Donald Trump announced that He was retiring from a nuclear treaty dating back to the Cold War.
"We need to protect ourselves from China, Russia and even the United States," Macron told Europe 1 in its first radio interview since becoming president in May 2017.
"We will not protect Europeans if we do not decide to have a real European army."
Macron led the creation of a NATO-independent European force, made up of nine countries, that could quickly organize a joint military operation, evacuate civilians from a war zone or provide assistance after a natural disaster.
The defense ministers of the nine countries are due to meet for the first time Wednesday in Paris to begin to examine closely the operation of the force.
Finland is expected to become the tenth country involved in the project, according to a source close to the talks.
– Sensitive subject –
The enlarged EU is expected to significantly expand its defense budget from 2021, allocating some € 13 billion ($ 15 billion) over seven years to research and development of new equipment.
As part of an initiative called PESCO, 25 EU countries are also committed to better coordinating their defense spending and, possibly, their operations.
But talking about an "EU army", an idea launched by European federalists for years, remains an extremely sensitive topic among the Member States concerned with defending their sovereignty.
A French source said Macron was talking about a more coordinated defense rather than a truly supranational army covering the continent.
The president "used the strong image of a" European army "to recall" the need to strengthen its defense ties, "the source said.
European Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas said the EU supports "a more meaningful and assertive defense identity" but that this cooperation should start with joint research and procurement.
"I do not think this defense identity starts with an EU army," he said.
"We have to start with the rest and we'll see that at some point."
Bruno Alomar, a professor at the French War College, who trains senior officers, said Macron's vision of a united European defense force was far removed.
"The idea of creating a common strategic culture is not a bad idea," he told AFP.
"But there is a huge gap between Emmanuel Macron's European defense and the reality of the very powerful disagreements between European partners."
– Fears of Russian interference –
Macron, who will host dozens of world leaders on Sunday commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, said the 70 years of peace in Europe could not be taken for granted.
"It's been millennia since it has ever lasted so long," he said in a recorded interview Monday night in Verdun, in northeastern France, as part of a Weekly tour of the old battlefields.
Faced with "a Russia that lies at our borders and has shown that it could pose a threat," said Mr. Macron: "We need a Europe that defends itself better alone, not to mention only on the United States ".
In another apparent reference to Russia, he insisted that "attempts to intrude into cyberspace and multiple interventions in our democracies" required a unified response.
The centrist French leader has waged a bitter war against nationalism in recent days as he prepared to welcome leaders such as Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Before the elections to the European Parliament next May – seen by many observers as a battle between pro-Europeans and right-wing populists at Macron – he said politicians must react to the fear and anger of voters .
Europe has probably become too ultra-liberal, "he said," which does not allow the middle classes to live well ".
The far-right French leader Marine Le Pen – one of Macron's anti-nationalist tirades – accuses her side of wanting to turn Europe into an empire.
"And it's the empires that are at the origin of the First World War, not the nations," she told Radio Classique.
At the commemorations of the centenary of the First World War in France, which lasted a week, President Emmanuel Macron said that Europe must reduce its dependence on American power.
Macron led the creation of a nine-nation, NATO-independent European force that can quickly organize a joint military operation, evacuate civilians from a war zone, or provide aid after a disaster. natural
Discussions on an "EU army", an idea launched by European federalists for years, remain an extremely sensitive topic among the Member States concerned with defending their sovereignty.
Macron said that in the face of "a Russia on our borders that has proven to be a threat," Europe had to defend itself better than the United States alone.
