Macron says EU needs ‘hundreds of billions’ in defence spending
French president’s urging comes ahead of Thursday’s special EU summit focused on defence, as Trump signals a friendlier approach to Moscow and disengagement from Europe.
FrenchFrench president Emmanuel Macron on Sunday urged EU member states to agree on "massive, common funding" to unlock investments of hundreds of billions of euros for European defense and security, reports Politico.
"We will give a mandate to the European Commission to define our capacity needs for a common defense," Macron said in an interview published in several French newspapers on Sunday. "This massive funding probably reaches hundreds of billions of euros," he said.
His comments come ahead of a special EU summit set for Thursday that will be focused on defense.
The French president has long argued that Europe needs more strategic autonomy, less dependency on the U.S. and more investments in its own industrial defense base.
Macron said on Sunday that the need to make the shift had become even more urgent as the U.S. pivots away from Europe.
