The European Union, in its current form, is like a ‘herbivore’ surrounded by “carnivores,” and needs to become more assertive and less reliant on the US and China, according to French President Emmanuel Macron.
Macron made these remarks on Thursday while addressing EU leaders at the fifth European Political Community summit in Budapest, Hungary. He reiterated his long-held view that the EU should play a more active role in global affairs.
”For me, it’s simple. The world is made up of herbivores and carnivores. If we decide to remain herbivores, then the carnivores will win and we will be a market for them,” Macron said. However, he cautioned against becoming too “aggressive.”
“I think, at the very least, we should choose to become omnivores. I don’t want to be aggressive, just that we know how to defend ourselves on all these subjects.”
The French president urged the EU to reduce its dependency on major foreign actors, including the US and China. He argued that delegating economic development and geopolitical strategy to third parties has ultimately proven to be “not the best idea.”
“We [in Europe] think that we should delegate our geopolitics to the United States of America, that we should delegate our growth debt to our Chinese clients, that we should delegate our technological innovation to the American hyper-scalers,” Macron stated.
The EU should stop acting like a “supermarket open to all,” he said. “Our open liberal democracy model is a target for other powers with opposing agendas who seek to divide us.”
The US-led NATO bloc currently plays a “key role” in European security, Macron acknowledged, while urging the EU to lessen its dependence on Washington in this area. The French leader has long advocated for the creation of a joint EU military, but the idea has yet to gain traction.
“And within NATO, we want to play our role… There has been a strategic awakening that we Europeans must take on. We must not delegate our security to Americans forever,” Macron stated.
Macron also commented on Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election earlier this week, emphasizing that the EU must now do more on its own. EU politicians have long expressed concern that a Trump comeback could lead to a new trade war between the bloc and the US, and they have already developed action plans for this scenario.
“[Trump] was elected by the American people, and he will defend the Americans’ interests, and this is legitimate and a good thing. The question is, are we ready to defend Europeans’ interests?” Macron said.