French president Emmanuel Macron has said Europe needs to stop being “naive” and shore up its own military power, following the signing of a security pact between Australia, the US and the UK in the Indo-Pacific.
In his first comments since the so-called Aukus agreement was announced and a French-led $36bn submarine agreement was scrapped, Macron on Tuesday stressed the need for “Europe to take care of its own protection” and show “solidarity” between member states.
Speaking at the Elysée Palace after the signing of a €3bn frigate contract with Greece, he said: “We are forced to note that for a little more than 10 years now the United States of America has put itself and its strategic interests first . . . We would be naive, or rather we would be making a terrible mistake, not to . . . grasp all of the consequences this has for ourselves.”