EmmanuelEmmanuel Macron on Friday called for a stronger European defence strategy as the EU’s Commission president said the time had come to "move up a gear" on turning the bloc into a standalone military power, reports The Telegraph.
As France takes over the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union this month, Mr Macron has made it clear he wants to ramp up the 27-nation bloc’s strategic and defence autonomy.
France is the EU’s only remaining major military power after Brexit, and French companies would be in pole position to benefit from bumper defence contracts handed out by Brussels. Paris is still smarting from losing a multi-billion dollar Australian submarine contract to Britain and the US.
After a meeting with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen at the Elysée Palace, the French president said the EU would finalise in the coming months the EU's so-called “Strategic Compass”, its foreign policy and defence strategy blueprint.
