The “best possible involvement” of Europe within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is to be “more in charge of its own security and its strategic autonomy,” French President Emmanuel Macron told participants in a virtual special edition of the Munich Security Conference in February.

Noting that Washington had claimed “the US is becoming a Pacific power,” Macron said it means the US refocuses on “other regions than our neighbourhood,” Xinhua news agency reported. “Europe, the European Union, its key members have to be part of the solution of their own security,” he said. “If we are too much dependent on the US within NATO, we can find ourselves in the situation to be no more protected at our borders.”

Mr Macron reiterated that” NATO needs a new political momentum and clarification of its strategic concept,” defending his comments in 2019 that the transatlantic military alliance was “experiencing brain death.”

“All I said... remain valid,” said Mr Macron. “I do believe the best possible involvement of Europe within NATO is to be more in charge of its own security and to be much more in charge of its strategic autonomy.” He urged European members of the alliance to increase their investment in defence and to reach the target of spending two percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defence so as to “provide evidence to our US friends that we are reliable and responsible partners”.

“We reduce the net contribution of the US in the partnership. We take up our responsibility. We provide the evidence we are reliable,” he said.