Macron emphasizes EU defense in bid to warm ties with Poland
WARSAW: French President Emmanuel Macron sought to reset relations with Poland in a visit on Monday, at a time when Britain’s departure and an upsurge of nationalism are reshaping alliances and undermining confidence in the European Union.
Macron stressed the importance of deeper military integration among EU states - a message likely to appeal to Poland and other former communist satellites of the Soviet Union that are unnerved by Russia’s assertiveness since it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
“I’ll be happy the day Polish people can tell each other: ‘The day I’m attacked, I know Europe can protect us’. Because that day, the sense of European belonging will be indestructible,” Macron said during a joint press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Macron, whose rapprochement with Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent months has caused concern in Poland and eastern Europe, sought to offer reassurance, saying: “France is neither pro-Russian nor anti-Russian; it is pro-European.” - Reuters