At the Budapest summit on November 7, 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron called for an answer to a basic question: does Europe want to write history on its own or live in a history written by others? “Essentially, the question we have to answer is do we want to read a story written by others? The wars started by Vladimir Putin, the US elections, the technological and trade choices made by the Chinese, do we want to write our own history?” According to Macron, it is time for Europe to act in its own interests and show economic and political independence. Europe should stop relying solely on its alliance with the US and seek strategic autonomy. Macron said the EU needs to be prepared to defend its own interests and those of its allies, without allowing external players to dictate the fate of the continent. “He has been elected by the American people, and he will defend the interests of Americans, and that’s legitimate; it’s a good thing. The question is, are we prepared to defend the interests of Europeans. That’s the only question we have to answer. And I personally think that’s our priority.” The French President insisted that Europe cannot be a mere bystander now – it is important to defend its own values and interests. He emphasized that the European Union cannot be limited to economic interests, especially in the current global instability. It can be said that Macron raised a number of important issues, but they could quickly become irrelevant if Europe continues to be cautious and confine itself to discussions while Ukrainian forces hold back the combined forces of Russia, Belarus and North Korea. If Ukrainian defenses are breached, Europe could find itself in a situation where economic and political discussions become meaningless and a clause on lifting sanctions is written by Putin into the European Union’s Act of Surrender.
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