Macron says war in Ukraine has been an "electric shock" for NATO
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French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday backed his controversial statement in 2019 that NATO was experiencing a "brain death," but said the war in Ukraine was an "electric shock" for the military alliance.
This is stated in Politico.
Presenting his campaign platform ahead of next month's presidential election in France, Macron told a news conference that he took full responsibility for what he said in 2019.
But Macron added that "Russia has just carried out an electroshock" awakening "with its invasion of Ukraine. The war started by President Putin brings clarity and poses an unusual threat near our borders and on our European soil, which gives NATO a strategic explanation," Macron said.
"However, I continue to think that we need to rebuild the new European security order, that today's war in Ukraine makes it even more necessary," Macron added.
Note
In 2019, Macron caused a stir, saying that Europe needed to "wake up" and intensify its activities in the field of defense and security because he then called the collapse of strategic cooperation between the United States and the EU within NATO.
"What we are experiencing now is the death of NATO's brain," Macron said in an interview with the Economist, adding that Europe is "on the brink" and needs to start thinking of itself strategically as a geopolitical force.
The media forced Macron to apologize for military supplies to Russia in previous years
Asked by Politico on Thursday whether he would reconsider his comments in 2019, Macron said he wanted to start a "strategic clarification" of NATO's role, adding that work had already been done in France and the EU.
He said EU leaders would finalize a "strategic compass" that France is pushing for to strengthen the bloc's military capabilities at next week's European Council in Brussels.
He also stressed that the NATO summit in June would "change the framework of the Alliance."
