France warns: in 10 years the European Union may no longer exist

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Friday that Europe's political organization is in danger, despite its financial, technological and cultural resources. He also assured that the voices talking about the imminent “civilizational disappearance” of Europe are wrong.

“EU under attack from outside”

The minister spoke at the 31st annual conference of French ambassadors, at which President Emmanuel Macron also addressed the day before.

– Europe is not on the brink of civilizational decline and the arrogant voices that say so would do better to be careful about their own decline – said the minister. However, he admitted that the EU is “threatened from the outside by adversaries who are trying to dismantle the bonds of solidarity that unite us.” – Nothing can guarantee that in 10 years we will still be living in the European Union as we know it today, said Barrot.

He accused the US administration of deciding to “rethink” ties with Europe. This is her right, he admitted. – It is our right to say “no” to our historic ally (…) when his proposal is not acceptable – said the minister.

We reject the new colonialism

In his Thursday speech at the 31st conference of ambassadors, Macron noted that France is against new forms of imperialism and colonialism, but it will not submit to vassalization. “We reject new colonialism and imperialism, but we are also against vassalization and defeatism,” Macron said.

The leader of France drew attention to the role of superpowers, including: the US, which is “turning its back on some of its allies and liberating itself from international rules”, China, “demonstrating increasingly unrestrained trade aggression, especially since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, which is now harming the European economy”, and Russia, which is a “destabilizing force”.

Macron counted among the greatest successes of French diplomacy, among others: the actions of the coalition of the willing, whose members, as he emphasized, “currently finance the entire Ukrainian resistance.” Moreover, he referred to the new opening in relations with African countries and the recognition of Palestinian independence by Paris last year.

He called on ambassadors to place even greater emphasis on economic diplomacy as France and other European countries need to invest more to remain competitive. He recalled that many initiatives have already been created to promote French solutions and companies abroad, including: AI Summit in Paris, organized with India in February last year. (PAP)

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