Europe risks dying and faces big decisions - Macron - BBC News

The French president delivers a stark warning for Europe to act fast to survive in a changing world.

1 day agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Christophe Petit Tesson/Pool via REUTERSImage caption, President Macron's speech was billed as a follow-up to his landmark speech at the Sorbonne seven years agoBy Hugh SchofieldBBC News, ParisEurope must escape from its self-imposed naivety or face the risk of dying. That was the stark warning at the heart of a major speech on the EU by French President Emmanuel Macron Thursday in Paris.

Over two hours in the historic auditorium of Sorbonne university, the French president said Europe must react fast if it is to survive in a changing world.

"We need to be lucid, and recognise that our Europe is mortal. It can die. It all depends on the choices we make, and those choices need to be made now," he said.

Mr Macron's speech was billed as the follow-up to his landmark 2017 Sorbonne speech when, not long after taking office, he first urged the European Union to move towards greater self-sufficiency in defence and the economy.

Coming just a few weeks before European elections, the speech was also being seen as a bid to reinvigorate the lacklustre campaign of his Renaissance party.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68898887

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