Macron warns of renewed friction with US, urges EU to use ‘Greenland moment’ to push reforms
By Gianluca Lo Nostro
PARIS, Feb 10 (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron warned that Europe must brace for more moments of U.S. hostility and treat what he called the “Greenland moment” as a wake-up call to implement long-delayed reforms to strengthen the bloc’s global power.
In an interview with several European newspapers, the French leader said that the European Union should not perceive the lull in tensions with Washington as a permanent change, despite the pause in US threats to Greenland, trade and technology.
Macron urged EU leaders to take advantage of a summit in the Belgian stronghold this week to inject fresh energy into economic reforms to boost the bloc’s competitiveness and strengthen its ability to stand up to China and the United States on the world stage.
“When there is a clear act of aggression, I think what we need to do is not to give in or try to reach an agreement,” Macron said in comments published Tuesday in Le Monde, the Financial Times and other newspapers. “We’ve tried this strategy for months. It doesn’t work.”
Macron said the Trump administration was “clearly anti-European” and wanted the EU to “disintegrate”. He said further tensions with the Trump administration were expected, including over Europe’s regulations on digital technology.
Macron warned of potential US import tariffs from US President Donald Trump if the EU uses the Digital Services Act to control technology companies, adding: “The US will attack us in the coming months – that’s for sure – for digital regulation.”
‘EUROPE NEEDS PROTECTION, NOT PROTECTION’
Macron said Europe must be more resilient in the face of the dual challenge from the United States and China.
“There is a Chinese tsunami on the trade front, and minute by minute instability on the American side. These two crises mean a deep shock, a rupture, for Europeans,” he continued.
Macron, whose second term ends in spring 2027, renewed his call for the EU to start more joint borrowing to help the 27-nation bloc invest at scale and challenge the hegemony of the US dollar.
“World markets are becoming increasingly wary of the US dollar. They are looking at alternatives. Let’s offer them European debt,” Macron said, adding that Europe’s democratic institutions are an important asset for investors at a time when the US is “moving away from the rule of law”.
The EU used joint debt to revive the European economy after the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, but French attempts to make such instruments permanent have met stiff resistance from Germany and other frugal northern member states.
Thursday’s summit will include discussions about French-led plans for a “Made in Europe” strategy that would set minimum requirements for European content in locally produced goods. The approach has divided EU countries and alarmed automakers.
“For me, the economic strategy to make Europe a power lies in what I call protection; this is not protectionism, it is European choice,” Macron said.
(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro; Additional reporting by Michel Rose; Lincoln Feast, Editing by Richard Lough and Alex Richardson)
