"When we are threatened in our own neighbourhood, particularly to the south, we have to be able to respond, even when the United States or the (NATO) alliance would like to be less implicated," French defence chief Florence Parly said in Munich.
"To achieve that, we need strategic autonomy," Parly told the Munich Security Conference, alongside her German counterpart Ursula von der Leyen.
The EU announced in December a permanent structured cooperation on defence agreement, known as PESCO, aimed at developing new military equipment and improving cooperation and decision-making.
And French President Emmanuel Macron has called for a European Intervention Initiative (EII) that would let individual nations band together for operations outside of existing EU or NATO structures.
In particular, Paris feels it is bearing the brunt of efforts to stabilise Mali, Niger and other Sahel nations in Africa from jihadist groups that could attempt to strike Europe.