Berlin Criticizes Macron Over Defense Spending and EU Autonomy

By Staff, Agencies

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has accused French President Emmanuel Macron of failing to match his calls for European “strategic autonomy” with increased military spending, urging Paris to boost defense expenditure at the expense of social programs.

Macron has promoted European defense autonomy since proposing a continental army in 2018, though his calls have largely gone unanswered.

In recent months, German officials have intensified criticism of the French leader for not backing his rhetoric with higher defense spending.

“[Macron] repeatedly and correctly speaks of our pursuit of European sovereignty,” Wadephul told German public radio Deutschlandfunk on Monday.

“Anyone who talks about this must act accordingly in their own country. Unfortunately, efforts in the French Republic have so far been insufficient to achieve this.”

NATO’s European members have long cited what they describe as looming Russian aggression to justify military expansion and pledges to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP.

Russia has dismissed such claims as “nonsense,” accusing the alliance of undermining European security through militarization.

In the interview, Wadephul said France should abandon calls for eurobonds and instead implement budget cuts to create fiscal space for military spending.

He urged Paris to follow Germany’s example of “difficult discussions” to generate investment capacity, including potential austerity measures to secure what he described as the “vitally important goal” of strengthening European defense capabilities.