Emmanuel Macron responds indirectly to Pentagon chief’s criticism
- From Athens, Emmanuel Macron indirectly responded on Friday to the criticisms made by the Pentagon chief about the European Union.
- According to the head of state, the American, Russian, and Chinese presidents are “fiercely opposed to Europeans.”
- “This moment could be the European moment,” he estimated.
An indirect response to the Pentagon chief. During a press conference on Friday, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth emphasized that Europeans have benefited from American protection “for decades”. Before criticizing their inaction to resolve the Strait of Hormuz, still under a double blockade from Iran and the US nearly two months after the start of the war in the Middle East: “[Europe] would do better to speak less, organize fewer grand conferences, and get on a boat.”
From Athens, Greece, where he arrived on Friday for a two-day visit aimed at strengthening Franco-Greek cooperation in defense and security matters, Emmanuel Macron indirectly responded to these criticisms. “We must not underestimate the current moment. We have an American president, a Russian president, and a Chinese president who are fiercely opposed to Europeans,” said the President of the Republic during a conference at the Roman Agora alongside Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
“If we don’t believe in ourselves…”
“It’s the right time for a wake-up call from us,” estimated Emmanuel Macron, reaffirming, as he has been doing since the beginning of the year, that the European Union is, by contrast, “reliable” and “predictable”, even if it now must “become a real geopolitical power.” “If we don’t believe in ourselves, we have no chance of others finding us great,” he continued.
Read also
EN DIRECT – Middle East: Iranian negotiator in Pakistan, American envoys expected today
If Emmanuel Macron seemed to place Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Xi Jinping in the same category of opponents to the Old Continent, he also emphasized that the US president was still an “ally”, even if he was not always “reliable” or “predictable.”
