Macron Urges Europe To Reduce Dependence on The US

By Staff, Agencies

French President Emmanuel Macron warned that Europe must boost investment in strategic sectors or risk being “swept aside” amid rising competition from the United States and China.

His remarks were published on Tuesday in a joint interview with Le Monde, The Economist, and The Financial Times.

Macron estimated that the European Union needs around €1.2 trillion [$1.4 trillion] annually in public and private investment across critical areas such as green and digital technologies, defense, and security.

The French president also renewed his call for common European debt, including Eurobonds, saying, “Now is the time to launch a common borrowing capacity for future-oriented projects.”

Warning against complacency, Macron said the US continues to pressure Europe in sectors like pharmaceuticals and digital technology: “There are threats and intimidation… But don’t believe it for a second,” he cautioned.
The French leader criticized what he described as Europe’s passive approach to "blatant aggression," saying: "We must not bow down or try to reach a settlement. We tried this strategy for months, and it’s not working. Above all, it leads Europe to increase its dependence."

Ahead of an EU summit, Macron called for strengthening the single market and diversifying trade to reduce Europe’s reliance on dominant global powers.

The French president's vision includes a more autonomous Europe, both economically and strategically, that can withstand geopolitical pressure from external powers while investing in its own future.

Last month, the EU’s top diplomat warned of a widening transatlantic rift, urging Europe to rethink its security and take greater responsibility for its defense amid global power shifts.

Speaking at the European Defence Agency, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Europe can no longer outsource its security, citing reliance on “coercive power politics” and declining US attention. She proposed building independent European defense capabilities, including a collectively funded EU military force.

Kallas’ remarks came amid declining confidence in Europe’s security partnership with the US, shaken by Trump’s repeated doubts about NATO commitments and his Greenland threat, seen in Europe as a challenge to allied sovereignty.

Beyond Trump’s rhetoric, EU officials worry that US focus on China, the Indo-Pacific, and domestic politics leaves Europe lower on Washington’s defense priorities, making reliance on American security a vulnerability, Kallas said.

“This shift has been ongoing for a while; it is structural, not temporary,” Kallas said. “It means that Europe must step up; no great power in history has ever outsourced its survival and survived.”