Opening photo: Christophe Petit Tesson / Pool / AFP
Emmanuel Macron gave a speech at the Sorbonne University on Thursday, in which the future of Europe was the main focus. He recalled that seven years ago, when he took office, he gave a similar speech, and at that time only the French were talking about Europe’s sovereignty. Since then, many crises have made life difficult for the EU (including Brexit, Covid, and the Russian-Ukrainian war), but the union has overcome these challenges – that’s why no one is talking about leaving today.
However, he drew attention to the fact that geopolitical changes such as the possible return of Trump, the movements of Russia and China, represent a serious threat “Europe is mortal and may pass away. Everything depends on our decision, and we have to decide now” he underlined.
After that, however, he struck a harsher tone, namely in relation to Washington.
No matter how strong our alliance is, we are not America’s most important thing. Their priority is themselves and China. Until now, we have bought from Russia and China and entrusted our security to America. Well, that’s over.”
He stressed: Europe must act as an independent, sovereign entity, not “Washington’s lap.” He praised the EU migration pact and urged close cooperation: “migrants must be registered and monitored and, if necessary, deported”. At the same time, he did not agree with the British solution, specifically the Rwanda law: “I don’t believe in looking at an African country and sending people there. This is a betrayal of our values and will only lead to our dependence on a third world country”.
