The French president has called on the EU to boost collective defense funding amid US pressure to boost NATO contributions
FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron © Getty Images / NurPhoto / Contributor French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France will double its defense budget in the near future and urged fellow EU leaders to also boost military spending. This comes amid US pressure on NATO member states to increase contributions to collective security. Speaking to journalists on Monday following an informal meeting of EU leaders in Brussels on European defense, Macron emphasized the need for a stronger and more autonomous Europe. “France will double its defense budget following the completion of two military programming laws and will launch major strategic projects,” Macron stated, calling on fellow EU members to follow suit. He further argued that recent decisions and statements from the new US administration were pushing the EU toward greater unity and a more proactive role in addressing collective security challenges. US President Donald Trump declared over the weekend that he would impose tariffs on imports from the bloc, citing unfair trade practices. Macron reaffirmed that the EU would defend its commercial interests if targeted, stressing that as a “true power,” it must respond accordingly. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who also participated in the Brussels meeting, welcomed the EU’s efforts to strengthen defense, emphasizing the importance of the NATO-EU partnership. Rutte has consistently called on members of the US-led military bloc to adopt a “wartime mindset” and significantly increase defense spending. Trump previously floated the idea of raising NATO members’ defense spending target to 5% of GDP, though no member – including the US – currently meets that threshold.
Read more Trump has long bemoaned the US trade deficit with the EU and has demanded that European nations increase imports of American goods, particularly cars and agricultural products. On Sunday night, he reiterated that new tariffs on the EU would “definitely happen.” The announcement follows Trump’s recent imposition of 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, along with a 10% tariff on Chinese goods, effective February 1. While Trump did not specify a timeline for the European tariffs, he suggested they would be introduced “pretty soon.” Speaking to reporters on Friday, he criticized the EU’s trade policies, stating that the “European Union has treated us so terribly.” This is not Trump’s first clash with EU countries over trade. In 2018, during his first term as US president, Trump imposed a 25% tariff on steel and a 10% tariff on aluminum imports from the EU, Canada, and Mexico, citing national security concerns. In response, the EU implemented retaliatory tariffs on American products, including bourbon whiskey and motorcycles. In December, Trump demanded that Brussels reduce its trade deficit with the US by significantly increasing purchases of American oil and gas.
