French President Emmanuel Macron called on Europe on Monday, January 20, to “wake up” and spend more on defense, in a speech to the French military as Donald Trump returns to power. Macron referred to expected changes in Washington’s foreign policies especially regarding the war in Ukraine and said this is an “opportunity for a European strategic wake-up call.”
“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 US taxpayers through major military aid packages and vowed to bring the conflict to a swift end. He also has made it clear that he wants to shift more of the burden of Ukraine onto Europe.
‘Let us not delude ourselves’
Macron warned that Russia’s war on Ukraine would not end “tomorrow or the day after,” after Trump pledged to quickly end the conflict. Trump has not explained how he plans to stop the fighting. “Let us not delude ourselves,” Macron said in his New Year’s address to the French armed forces.
Trump promised over the summer to end Russia’s war against Ukraine “in 24 hours,” although he did not explain how he planned to do that, before more recently suggesting a timeline of several months.
Speaking in Cesson-Sevigne in northwestern France, Macron said that it was important to give Ukraine “the means to last, and to enter any future negotiations from a position of strength.” “The challenge tomorrow, when hostilities cease, will be to give Ukraine guarantees against any return to war on its territory, and assurances for our own security.”
Macron has repeatedly called on Europe to assume more responsibility for its own defense, and he reiterated that call on Monday. “There can be no peace and security in Europe without Europeans,” Macron said, referring to Russia’s war on Ukraine and to European involvement in the negotiations.
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Trump has questioned Washington’s commitment to defend NATO allies and spoken of slashing support to Ukraine.
