Macron urges European sovereignty ahead of G7, NATO summits

PARIS: The European Union (EU) needs to build the framework of its strategic autonomy on economic, industrial and technological issues as well as military values, said French President Emmanuel Macron.

"For me at the heart of these days to come is the European sovereignty," Macron told a press conference at the Elysee on Thursday on the eve of the G7 summit in the UK from June 11 to 13.

Citing "a solid record" by Europe in this regard in recent years, including progress in defence, digital governance and post-pandemic recovery plan, Macron called for a new partnership with the US. Regarding the NATO summit next week in Brussels, Macron, who said in 2019 that the trans-Atlantic alliance was experiencing "brain death", stressed that "the strategic capability autonomy of Europeans should be recognized".

Macron said that "NATO must clarify its common values. NATO must build a rule of conduct among allies and NATO must clarify its concept".

"What seems to me to be very important in this context is that we, as Europeans, assume that we are the players in arms control on our soil. This is an essential subject for the months and years to come," he said.

"Europe is not simply an object or a territory of the distribution of influences. We are a subject of international geopolitics and we must assume it," he added. The G7 Summit will be the first time world leaders will assemble in person since the coronavirus pandemic. The NATO Summit will be hled on June 14 in Brussels. (IANS)

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