French President Emmanuel Macron told Europe to “wake up” and spend more on defence in a speech that echoed previous warnings from President Donald Trump that NATO reliance on U.S. taxpayer dollars will no longer be tolerated.
AP reports Macron urged Europe to accept responsibility for its own security, saying Trump’s return to the White House is an “opportunity for a European strategic wake-up call.”
The French leader’s call came in his New Year’s address Monday to the military at the Army Digital and Cyber Support Command based in western France.
“What will we do in Europe tomorrow if our American ally withdraws its warships from the Mediterranean? If they send their fighter jets from the Atlantic to the Pacific?” he asked.
Irony Alert: NATO Can’t Be ‘A La Carte’, Says Trump Critic Diplomat Whose Nation is Worst-Performinghttps://t.co/ofyqH5tc6u
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 12, 2024
Trump has criticized the cost of the war in Ukraine for U.S. taxpayers through major military aid packages and has made it clear that he wants to shift more of the fiscal burden back onto Europe.
He has also challenged NATO members to raise defense spending to five percent of their overall economic output, as Breitbart News reported.
That is a level that no NATO member has reached – not even Poland, which is the closest, spending over four percent in 2024 and expected to approach five percent this year.
The newly returned president has vowed to bring the Ukraine/Russia conflict to a swift end, voicing hope that peace could be negotiated in six months.
UK Says Trump Right to Demand Higher Military Spending From NATO Allieshttps://t.co/GJXAw3Kx5p
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 11, 2025
Meanwhile France and Europe need to adapt to evolving threats and changing interests, Macron said.
“Who would have thought a year ago that Greenland would be at the center of political and strategic debates? That’s the way it is.”
