"Confronted with a world in disarray and a double, potentially existential challenge from the US and China, he said: Europe must become a power. The bloc is facing a Chinese tsunami on trade, Macron told several European newspapers, as the country most Europeans had for decades seen principally as an infinite export market transforms itself instead into a ferocious, low-price, hi-tech competitor."
"And on defence, the US which Europeans had thought would guarantee our security forever was now openly anti-European, showed contempt for the EU, sought its dismemberment (and was microsecond-level unstable on trade, too). We are not moving at the right pace, and we are not operating on the right scale, Macron said. This must be the moment of awakening. It is time for Europe to wake up If we do not decide for ourselves, we will be swept away."
"Two key events may give a hint of whether, and how, that focus translates into action. At a 16th-century chateau in rural Belgium on Thursday, Europe's leaders will discuss urgent measures to reboot the EU's sluggish economy and make it more competitive. And at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) on Friday and over the weekend, they will join other world leaders, military officials and experts to discuss European security and defence and the future of the transatlantic relationship."
Europe faces simultaneous economic and security challenges from China and the United States. China is shifting from an export market into a low-price, high-tech competitor, producing a Chinese tsunami on trade. The United States has become openly anti-European in policy and rhetoric, undermining trust in transatlantic security guarantees. Calls urge Europe to become a strategic power and to accelerate reforms. Leaders will meet in Belgium to discuss cutting red tape, loosening regulations and deepening the single market to boost competitiveness. The Munich Security Conference will address European defence, security cooperation and the future of the transatlantic relationship.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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