Macron urges EU to close ranks against US and China
Emmanuel Macron urged the EU to assert its "technological sovereignty" on Tuesday, Feb. 10, days before an informal leaders' retreat in Belgium. Speaking to European media, Macron warned that the continent is at risk of "dismemberment" by US and Chinese protectionism. T
- World
- DPA
- Published Date: 04:34 | 10 February 2026
Ahead of an informal EU summit on competitiveness, French President Emmanuel Macron has called on Europe to close ranks to assert itself economically against China and the United States.
Europe must invest more, protect its economy, forge new trade alliances and assert itself more confidently, Macron said in an interview with several European newspapers - including France's Le Monde and Germany's Süddeutsche Zeitung - published on Tuesday.
Macron said there was a risk of Europe being "swept aside" in the next five years if nothing is done. "We must think of Europe as a power that we create together. We must be able to protect ourselves from the rest of the world. We must try to spread our model."
The bloc must wake up and grow up geopolitically, Macron said ahead of Thursday's meeting of EU leaders, where they are expected to discuss the impact of the new geopolitical and economic environment on EU competitiveness.
"We are not investing enough in defence and security, in technologies and ecological change, in artificial intelligence and quantum technology," the French president said.
"These are the three battles that need to be fought. We are investing much less than the Chinese and the Americans," he said, adding that joint European investment is necessary.
Macron also called for a shared European borrowing capacity to fund defence, green technologies, AI and quantum computing, using Eurobonds alongside private and public funds.
He stressed that the plan would fund new investments rather than consolidate existing debt, he added, likely referring to France's high national debt.
The global market is increasingly fearful of the US dollar and is looking for alternatives, Macron said. "Let's offer it European debt."
A democratic constitutional state is an enormously attractive factor for all investors worldwide, he said.
"This is therefore a unique opportunity that would also make it possible to challenge the dominance of the dollar."
Europe must invest more, protect its economy, forge new trade alliances and assert itself more confidently, Macron said in an interview with several European newspapers - including France's Le Monde and Germany's Süddeutsche Zeitung - published on Tuesday.
Macron said there was a risk of Europe being "swept aside" in the next five years if nothing is done. "We must think of Europe as a power that we create together. We must be able to protect ourselves from the rest of the world. We must try to spread our model."
The bloc must wake up and grow up geopolitically, Macron said ahead of Thursday's meeting of EU leaders, where they are expected to discuss the impact of the new geopolitical and economic environment on EU competitiveness.
"We are not investing enough in defence and security, in technologies and ecological change, in artificial intelligence and quantum technology," the French president said.
"These are the three battles that need to be fought. We are investing much less than the Chinese and the Americans," he said, adding that joint European investment is necessary.
Macron also called for a shared European borrowing capacity to fund defence, green technologies, AI and quantum computing, using Eurobonds alongside private and public funds.
He stressed that the plan would fund new investments rather than consolidate existing debt, he added, likely referring to France's high national debt.
The global market is increasingly fearful of the US dollar and is looking for alternatives, Macron said. "Let's offer it European debt."
A democratic constitutional state is an enormously attractive factor for all investors worldwide, he said.
"This is therefore a unique opportunity that would also make it possible to challenge the dominance of the dollar."
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