Macron: France, Together with Allies, Takes Responsibility for Europe's Security as It Is a Fundamental Interest

French President Emmanuel Macron, who twice gathered nearly 30 European partners on Monday and Wednesday, points out that ‘Russia poses an existential threat to Europeans’.

Macron said this when summing up the results of the second summit in Paris. He noted that he had held lengthy talks with the leaders of the European Union, as well as Canada, Iceland and Norway. 

For his part, Prime Minister François Bayrou told his majority that ‘the risk of war in Europe has not been so high since 1945’.

Macron stressed that the position of France and its partners remains united - to ensure a lasting and durable peace in Ukraine. He stressed that France, together with its allies, assumes responsibility for the security of Europe, as it is its fundamental interest.

‘We stand by Ukraine and will take full responsibility for ensuring peace and security in Europe. This is a fundamental interest of France, and I am its guarantor. We share the goal, which is also President Trump's message, of ending the war of aggression that Russia has been waging for almost three years,’ Macron said.

The French President outlined the basic principles of a peaceful settlement:

Ukraine must actively participate in the peace process and its rights must be respected.

Peace must be lasting and accompanied by reliable security guarantees.

European security concerns should be taken into account in decision-making.

Macron also said that Europe should increase defence spending and strengthen its own security capabilities. According to him, the relevant decisions will be made in the coming days and weeks.

As a reminder, a summit of European leaders took place in Paris on 17 February. It was initiated by French President Emmanuel Macron.

The summit was attended by President of the European Council Antonio Costa, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Prime Ministers of Denmark, Spain and Poland Mette Frederiksen, Pedro Sanchez and Donald Tusk, as well as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schof and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also joined the summit.

After the summit, some countries were disappointed that they had not been invited. In particular, Slovenia and Romania had previously publicly expressed their dissatisfaction. 

After that, at the meeting on 19 February, Canada, which is a NATO ally, as well as Norway, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Finland, Romania, Sweden and Belgium were invited.