French President Emmanuel Macron called upon Europe to "rediscover taste for risk, ambition, and power" and reject dependence on the U.S., the French news channel BFM TV reported on Feb. 28.
The comments come amid seismic geopolitical shifts as U.S. President Donald Trump upends Washington's long-standing policy on Ukraine and Russia while casting doubt on his commitments to transatlantic security.
Speaking during his two-day visit to Portugal, Macron said that Europe must be "more united and stronger than ever" and take decisive steps in "technological, industrial, (and) defense matters."
"I see a lot of people in Europe saying, 'we'll have to be nice to the Americans, it'll pass, we have to bend our backs,'" Macron said in comments quoted by BFM TV.
But "submission is not an answer," the French president added, warning Europe against entering into a "happy vassalage." The statement follows discussions within Europe on boosting defense spending to strengthen its own capabilities and Ukraine's.
Macron's trip to Portugal came after he visited Washington, where he sought to convince Trump to commit to post-war security guarantees for Ukraine.
The French president has reportedly failed to receive any clear commitments from Trump, with an undisclosed EU official describing the trip as a "waste of time" in comments for Politico.
While made in an unprecedented geopolitical context, Macron's views on Europe's autonomy are not new. He has long called on Europe to forge its strategic independence and cast off reliance on the U.S.
As the continued U.S. support for Ukraine against Russian aggression grows uncertain, Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who visited Trump shortly after the French president, have spearheaded a plan to deploy European peacekeepers in the country to monitor a potential ceasefire.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to discuss the U.S.'s possible security guarantees with Trump during his visit to Washington on Feb. 28. The two leaders are also expected to sign a framework agreement on Ukrainian minerals and other resources.
Kate Tsurkan
