It would be desirable to see Europe “speaking with one voice” and thus being able to weigh in fully in world affairs. But that does not happen, as if by magic, through merging EU Member States’ UN Security Council seats. On the contrary, Europe’s international influence would only be weakened by such a single seat.

At the Atlantic Council in Washington, Florence Parly turned her recent speech on Franco-American relations into a well-argued plea in favor of an autonomous Europe. That a French official speaks of European autonomy is anything but new. But Parly orchestrated her entire presentation around this concept and, in front of a prestigious US audience, she did not hesitate to tackle head-on the most controversial matters.

Emmanuel Macron has rocked a very sensitive boat. For decades, the United States' repeated calls on European NATO allies to “shoulder their fair share of the burden” by increasing their defense budgets has also had a, usually unsaid but entirely well understood, objective, that is to sell, on an amicable and captive market, as many products of the American armaments industry as they can. And now, according to the French president, that should come to an end.

A couple of seconds within a two-and-a-half hour television interview propelled French President Macron on the front pages of international media, as the one who claims he persuaded President Trump to change his policy in Syria. Macron repeated four times that "we convinced him” to maintain US troops in the country and to limit air strikes to the regime’s chemical weapons sites. This publicly made statement is more than a diplomatic gaffe. It also, and above all, reveals that the French president is tempted by a rather naive approach to relations with America, the same that had, time and time again, led Britain into an impasse.

I had the pleasure to discuss the results of German elections, in a broader European context, with Ronald Granieri and Jeremy Black at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. To listen to the conversation, please click here.

I had the pleasure to discuss the upcoming French elections with Ronald Granieri at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. To listen to the conversation, please click on the link.

During a discussion at the Atlantic Council in Washington, the European Union’s High Representative was quite adamant, repeating the same words three times, in calling for America to not interfere in European affairs. Nothing could be more legitimate, one would say. Provided that Europeans stick to it as a general rule (and not a mere case by case grievance, this time triggered by controversial statements from president Trump).

NATO "obsolete", the Brexit "a success"? The bluntly expressed views of the U.S. president-elect[1] are the best thing that has happened to France’s European policy[2] over the past quarter of a century.

"In the face of great powers, old ones as well as new, France must reaffirm its independence ... few countries have by their defense - in other words their armed forces and foreign policy - the capacity to decide sovereignly. We do have it. And we must do everything possible to preserve this strategic freedom."[1]

According to the German weekly Der Spiegel, the issue of a European alternative to the (presumed) U.S. nuclear umbrella has been, for monthes, the object of informal, off-the-record dicussions within NATO.

After deliberately de-Europeanising the name of the group formerly known as EADS, the CEO of Airbus remains true to his vision. When it comes to the announced selling of the defense electric branch, Tom Enders declares he is indifferent to the acquirer's nationality, as only the price matters ...

According to Eurobarometer, it is in the new Member States - with their governments carefully aligned on American positions - that public opinion seems to be most favourable to the “Europe of Defence”. The surveys knock over the stereotypes... For the full text in English, please contact the author.