New Delhi: European countries could “become vassals” of the US in future conflict if they do not reduce their dependence on Washington or expand domestic industries such as defence and energy, according to French President Emmanuel Macron.
In an interview with Politico Sunday, following his return from China where he met President Xi Jinping and discussed issues like Taiwan, Macron repeatedly emphasised the importance of strategic autonomy for France and Europe as a whole. This, according to him, would include being less dependent on the “extraterritoriality of the US dollar”.
However, Politico pointed out that the French president’s office — Elysee Palace — censored parts of the interview that featured more “frank” remarks from him on the Taiwan issue and Europe’s strategic autonomy.
“This violates POLITICO’s editorial standards and policy, but we agreed to the terms in order to speak directly with the French president,” it said.
Later Monday, Macron tweeted a video commemorating his three-day visit to China, reflective of a potential smoothening of ties between the two countries.
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Strategic autonomy
Defined as a state’s “ability to pursue its national interests and adopt its preferred foreign policy” free from constraints of other more powerful states, strategic autonomy in the European context has been a key issue for the European Union’s executive branch under the leadership of German politician Ursula von der Leyen.
As part of their political posturing, von der Leyen and the rest of European Commission had labelled their strategic autonomy stance as an “ambitious recovery plan” for Europe at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in May 2020.
Over the years, the EU has on numerous occasions signalled shifts in the direction of autonomy with the setting up of Union-wide initiatives. Since the pandemic, von der Leyen and her leadership has accelerated these trends to some extent but Macron too has been a driving force behind this goal since being elected to power in 2017.
As such, Macron’s interview signified related shifts away from toeing the line of American foreign policy. “The great risk [Europe faces is that it] gets caught up in crises that are not ours, which prevents it from building its strategic autonomy,” he was quoted as saying.
Contrasts with von der Leyen
Macron’s advocacy for autonomy appeared most apparent when talking directly about China and related issues, such as the West’s stance on the long-standing Taiwan issue and European defence ambitions.
While no minute details are mentioned in the final interview published by Politico, Macron fired a warning shot about where Europe stands today and should stand in the future, should the US and China enter into a conflict.
“If the tensions between the two superpowers heat up … we won’t have the time nor the resources to finance our strategic autonomy and we will become vassals,” Macron said.
Macron’s remarks appear consistent with Politico’s prior reporting from the trip itself, since Von der Leyen, who had joined Macron for part of his China trip and hit out at any threats of use of force in the Taiwan Strait, received more of a diplomatic “cold shoulder” compared to the “warm embrace” from China towards the French president.
On the issue of Taiwan, Macron appeared to echo his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping’s sentiments in response to von der Leyen that it would be “wishful thinking” to expect China to compromise on Taiwan.
“Europeans cannot resolve the crisis in Ukraine; how can we credibly say on Taiwan, ‘watch out, if you do something wrong we will be there’? If you really want to increase tensions that’s the way to do it,” Macron was quoted as saying.
Macron’s interview and attempted smoothening of France-China relations also come in contrast to Germany’s imminently evolving position on China, as the Scholz administration reportedly plans to move away from the pragmatic “peace through trade” era seen under Angela Merkel’s tenure.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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