Macron calls for European army to defend against China, Russia... and the US
- French president says Europe is the main victim of Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of an arms deal with Moscow, so the continent needs to defend itself
French President Emmanuel Macron called on Tuesday for a “real European army” to better defend itself against Russia and even the United States.
Macron said Europe needed to reduce its dependence on American might, not least after US President Donald Trump announced he was pulling out of a cold war-era nuclear treaty.
“We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America,” Macron told Europe 1 in his first radio interview since becoming president in May 2017. “When I see President Trump announcing that he’s quitting a major disarmament treaty which was formed after the 1980s Euromissile crisis that hit Europe, who is the main victim? Europe and its security.”
The Euromissile crisis – a mini-arms race within the cold war that saw the US roll missiles into Europe – was a major factor spurring the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
“We will not protect the Europeans unless we decide to have a true European army,” Macron said in the interview recorded on Monday night.