'Must not delegate forever our security to US': Macron urges Europe to prioritise own interests

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday said that Europe must assert its security independence from the US - and defend its “interests” over those of geopolitical rivals.

“We must not delegate forever our security to America,” AFP quoted Macron as saying while addressing a gathering of European leaders.

He argued that returning US leader Donald Trump would legitimately “defend the interests of the American people” and asked: “Are we ready to defend the interests of the European people?”

This is not the first time that French President has made such a remark.

In April, six weeks ahead of European Parliament elections, Macron had said that the continent may need to produce its own anti-missile shield, long-range surface missiles and other items to build a sufficiently robust defense.

“We need to build a strategic defence for Europe ourselves,” Bloomberg had quoted the French president as saying said at Paris’s Sorbonne University.

“Europe must defend what’s important for her, with allies or alone,” he had said.

With inputs from agencies