PARIS - French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday rose the curtain on his vision for Europe where populism was building momentum, calling for closer ties to build joint defense force, common fiscal policy and coordinate efforts to tackle migration crisis and climate change.
"I'm here to speak about Europe. Some say again! Yes again," Macron said. "The Europe we know is too weak, too slow, too inefficient, but Europe alone can give us a capacity to act in the world in the face of the great contemporary challenges," he added.
Speaking at the Sorbonne University in Paris, two days after the far-rightist scored an unprecedented gain in Germany's election, the French head of state warned about the surge of nationalism advocates.
"Europe today is more fragile, exposed to nationalism, protectionism. They say they are legitimate because they exploit people's fear. But, I will let nothing, nothing to those who promise hatred, division and turning on nationalism," Macron told the crowd.
In order to overcome this challenge, "the only path that assures our future is the rebuilding of a Europe that is sovereign, united and democratic," the French president noted.
Instead, he proposed "at the beginning of the next decade, Europe must have a common intervention force, a common defense budget and a common doctrine to act."
"In defense matters, our objective must be Europe's autonomous capacity to act as a complement to NATO," he added. (Xinhua)