Macron made his case for Europeans building their own airspace protection strategy in the closing speech of a conference in Paris gathering defense ministers and other representatives of 20 European countries.
The talks included anti-drone combat and ballistic missile defense, French organizers said, noting that Moscow’s full-scale military operation in Ukraine has shown the importance and effectiveness of such equipment. Nuclear weapons deterrence was also on the agenda.
“We need to know what the threat situation is … And then, what are we, Europeans, able to produce? And what do we then need to buy?” Macron said.
He warned against purchasing immediately “what’s on the shelves.”
Among the nations who took part in the meeting were Germany, the UK, and Sweden as well as Ukraine’s neighbors Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania. Representatives of NATO and the European Union also attended.
Macron pushed for European defense equipment manufacturers to build independent military systems and relocate production on the continent. He also called for enhanced European standards, The Hill reported.
“Why do we still need to buy American too often? Because Americans have standardized much more than we have, and they themselves have federal agencies that provide massive subsidies to their manufacturers,” he said.
The one-day meeting took place on the sidelines of the Paris Air Show, the world’s largest event focusing on the aviation and space industry that opened Monday.
MP/PR