French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday 10 March that the European Union would “probably” have to commit to new joint spending to assert its sovereignty in defence, energy and food, spending which would complement national and private public investment (see EUROPE 12907/2).
According to Mr Macron, the war in Ukraine obliges us to “redefine the architecture [of] Europe”, and to take strategic decisions today that will later be translated into operational decisions. He mentioned decisions on energy and food, to be taken at the European Council on 24 and 25 March, and on defence, at the dedicated European Council in May.
On his arrival in Versailles, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi announced his country’s full alignment with France, including on the issue of a possible common debt to finance the investments necessary for European sovereignty.
In contrast, the Netherlands is one of the EU countries that advocate first using all the budgetary means already available at European level, such as the Next Generation EU Recovery Plan, which already supports investments in the climate and digital transitions. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)