France needs to boost its defence spending to turn calls for European sovereignty into concrete capabilities, according to Germany’s Foreign Minister on Monday, February 16th.
Referring to President Emmanuel Macron of France, Johann Wadephul said in a radio interview:
He repeatedly and correctly refers to our pursuit of European sovereignty. … However, anyone who talks about it needs to act accordingly in their own country.
Although NATO member states pledged last June to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, Wadephul told broadcaster Deutschlandfunk that progress so far has been lacking.
Unfortunately, efforts in the French Republic have also been insufficient to achieve this so far. … France, too, needs to undertake the same difficult discussions we are having here.
France carries the European Union’s third-highest debt ratio after Greece and Italy, nearly double the bloc’s permitted 60% threshold.
