Wake up and spend more on defense, Macron tells Europe as Trump takes office

French President Emmanuel Macron
| Photo Credit: Reuters

French President Emmanuel Macron called on Europe on Monday to “wake up” and spend more on defense in order to reduce its reliance on the United States for its security, in a speech to the French military as Donald Trump returns to power.

Macron referred to expected changes in Washington’s foreign policy, especially regarding the war in Ukraine, saying it was an “opportunity for a European strategic wake-up call,” in his New Year’s speech to the military at the Army Digital and Cyber Support Command based in western France.

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“What will we do in Europe tomorrow if our American ally withdraws its warships from the Mediterranean? If they send their fighter jets from the Atlantic to the Pacific?” he asked.

Trump has criticized the cost of the war in Ukraine for U.S. taxpayers through major military aid packages and has made it clear that he wants to shift more of the fiscal burden onto Europe. He has vowed to bring the conflict to a swift end, voicing hope that peace could be negotiated in six months.

France and Europe need to adapt to evolving threats and changing interests, Macron said. “Who would have thought a year ago that Greenland would be at the center of political and strategic debates? That’s the way it is.”

He said providing lasting support to Ukraine is key so that Kyiv is in a strong position when engaging in any future peace negotiations.

Ukraine must receive “guarantees” against any return of the war on its territory when hostilities cease and Europe must take “play its full role” in the process, he said.

Last week, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he discussed with Macron about the possibility of Western troops deploying in Ukraine to safeguard any peace deal ending the nearly three-year war with Russia.

“As one of these guarantees, we discussed the French initiative to deploy military contingents in Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.

Potentially sending European troops as peacekeepers to Ukraine is fraught with risk. Such a move may not deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again in the future, which is the fear of Ukrainian officials, and could drag European countries into a direct confrontation with Moscow. That, in turn, could pull NATO — including the United States — into a conflict.