(Newswire.net— November 8, 2019) — French president Emmanuel Macron said NATO’s strength is declining because the US is “turning its back” on its allies.
In an interview with The Economist magazine, the leader of France said that “NATO is brain-dead” and warned European countries that they could no longer rely on the US to defend them.
“What we are currently experiencing is the brain death of NATO.” Macron said, adding that Europe (EU) is on the verge of an abyss.
Europe, meanwhile, Macron argued, stands on “the edge of a precipice,” and it should regain its “military sovereignty” and continue to maintain dialogue with Moscow, Macron said.
The French president added that Europe must begin to think strategically of itself as a geopolitical force. Otherwise, Europe will no longer control its own destiny – said Macron.
Macron accused Washington for allegedly forfeiting from NATO and the EU. He explained that the US was “turning our back on it,” as demonstrated by the withdrawal of US troops from northeastern Syria and the abandonment of Kurdish allies there.
Macron added that so far America and Europe have shared interests, and that he has worked tirelessly to maintain good relations with President Donald Trump. However, he believes, America for the first time has a president who “does not share our idea of a European project” and that, even if Trump does not win the next election, damage has already been done.
The French president has pressured the European Union and Western countries to revise their role in the world and adapt to new global realities. In August, he claimed that “Western hegemony” was over and that it was a mistake to try to isolate Russia.
Macron also said in an hour-long interview with the Economist at the Champs-Elysees that “Europe must wake up”.
Asked whether he believed in the effectiveness of NATO Article 5, or the idea that in the event of an attack on a NATO member, all other member states would come to their aid, which many analysts consider to be the main means of deterring an attack on NATO members, Macron replied:
“I don’t know,” he said, “but what will Article Five mean tomorrow?”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, slam Macron’s ‘brain-dead NATO’ comment, insisting that the rumors of NATO’s “death” is greatly exaggerated.
Macron’s “drastic words” were “unnecessary, even if we do have problems and must get it together,” Merkel complained at a Berlin news conference on Thursday, insisting the “transatlantic partnership is indispensable for us.”
When the UK finally leaves the alliance, some 80 percent of NATO’s defense will be funded by non-EU countries, Stoltenberg warned, adding that the EU can’t survive without a transatlantic partnership.