PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Monday that the billions of euros of taxpayer money spent on Europe’s military budgets should not be used to buy only American weapons, pushing for more investment in home-grown defence industries.
Speaking minutes before the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, who has complained that Europeans do not pay enough for their defence, Macron said the continent should spend more.
But he added, in a New Year address to military top brass: “We can’t raise debt together, spend more for our defence to subsidise the industry, wealth and jobs of other continents.
“When we say ‘let’s spend more for our armies’, in many countries it means, way too often, ‘buy more American materiel’.”
France, which has a large defence industry, has often complained when other European Union members have opted to buy US weapons when French or European alternatives exist.
Germany’s decision in 2022 to launch the “European Sky Shield” air-defence system with US and Israeli hardware, ignoring a Franco-Italian alternative, particularly angered Macron.
Such concerns have long been dismissed as self-serving by countries that have relied on the US security umbrella since at least World War Two. But Trump’s more aggressive stance has made EU members more receptive.
Macron said Europeans should also simplify the European defence industry. Europe has 47 different industrial platforms for its naval industry while the US has only six, he said.
He called for more joint European weapons development, even without French companies in the lead, adding: “We won’t always be the European champions. But at least we’ll be sure the European champions have a global reach.”
Macron said France now had “Europe’s most efficient army” and met NATO’s military budget target of 2% of GDP, but could not rest on its laurels at a time when the US might withdraw troops from Europe.
And he suggested that 2% might not be enough “when the world is going off track”.
Macron also said Russia would pose a security challenge for Europe and the wider world for a long time, even if there was an end to the war in Ukraine, which Trump promised to end within 24 hours of becoming president.
“Let’s not fool ourselves, this conflict will not be resolved tomorrow. Or the day after tomorrow,” he said, adding that peace in Europe required Europeans to be at the negotiating table.
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