At the World Economic Forum, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Europe has “very powerful” tools at its disposal in trade matters and must use them when they are not respected. He also referred again to the EU’s “anti-coercion instrument”, considered a “bazooka” in the event of a trade war, or if the U.S. imposes tariffs on European countries.“We are moving toward a world of lawlessness, where the law is no longer what we know it to be, but becomes the law of the stronger,” he said.He announced that in 2026, together with other EU leaders, he will do everything possible to strengthen Europe and increase its autonomy.“Look at the situation we are in. I mean, we are moving toward autocracy versus democracy. There is more violence, more than 60 wars in 2024, which is an absolute record. Conflicts have become normalized, hybrid, spreading into new domains—space, digital information, cyber, trade. This is also a shift toward a ruleless world, where international law is trampled and it seems that the only law is the law of the stronger, and imperial ambitions are reemerging,” Macron said.He also noted that the war in Ukraine is entering its fourth year, and conflicts continue in the Middle East and across Africa.“This is also a shift toward a world without effective collective governance, where multilateralism is weakened by forces that obstruct it or turn away from it, and rules are undermined. I could list international bodies weakened or abandoned by key economies. Looking at the situation, it is obviously a very worrying time, because we are destroying the structure through which we could address common challenges,” Macron said.He argued that without collective governance, cooperation gives way to relentless competition, and that competition from the United States—through trade agreements that undermine European export interests—requires maximum concessions and openly aims to weaken and subordinate Europe.“And this, combined with the endless accumulation of new tariffs, which are fundamentally unacceptable, is even worse when used as leverage against territorial sovereignty,” he said.He added that France and Europe, faced with the “brutalization of the world”, must defend effective multilateralism, as it serves the interests of all those who refuse to submit to the rule of force.“For me, there are two responses: on one hand, more sovereignty and autonomy for Europeans, and on the other, effective multilateralism to achieve results through cooperation. Clearly, France and Europe are committed to national sovereignty and independence, the United Nations and its Charter. And this is not an outdated way of abandoning multilateralism. It is simply to fully remember what we learned from World War II and remain committed to cooperation,” he said.He emphasized that these principles are also why the EU decided to participate in the joint exercise in Greenland—without threatening anyone, but only supporting an ally and another European country, Denmark.
20.1.2026.
17:14
Macron warns: America wants to destroy Europe
French President Emmanuel Macron stated that the United States is trying to weaken Europe and called for “rejecting the law of the stronger”.
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