According to French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, Europe is amid an “unprecedented crisis” regarding the conflict in Ukraine.
It must choose whether to be a “vassal” of China or the United States.
He said the continent must choose between remaining free and utterly dependent on China or the United States.
“Profoundly affected by the direct and indirect consequences of this war,” the French leader stated in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Pais.
According to Macron, Europe has yet to decide whether it wishes “to become the vassal of one of the two” or pursue the path of freedom and solidarity.
In terms of economics, the “polarity” that exists between the United States and China is what defines the world.
The answer is “an economically, technologically, and militarily sovereign Europe,” even though Europe has so far been unable to respond entirely to this question.
A mighty Europe, to put it another way,” the French president emphasized.
Macron believes that the crisis that Europe is currently going through is also because the continent has not yet completely “digested” the time following the end of the Cold War.
The French president stated that the EU rushed to expand rapidly to the east when the Cold War ended, hoping that “the problems had been solved.”
“We have to know how to listen to them,” he said, adding that eastern Europe seeks greater national autonomy within the EU and that the EU now has two groups of nations with divergent perspectives on its future.
However, Macron believes this crisis affects all Western democracies, not just Europe.
They are “experiencing fatigue, a loss of collective references.” He said the global capitalist system is in trouble because it no longer helps people escape poverty.
Instead, it only causes “inequalities to skyrocket,” resulting in a “crisis of conscience for democracies.”
The president of France has long advocated for developing a more tightly-knit political community in Europe that would share democratic ideals and work closely together in energy, transportation, and security.
Additionally, Macron has insisted that Europe seek “strategic autonomy” from the US-led military bloc and reduce its reliance on NATO.