Space News from SpaceDaily.com
'Greenland moment': Macron urges Europe to invest in strategic sectors
ADVERTISEMENT


Paris, France, Feb 10 (AFP) Feb 10, 2026
French President Emmanuel Macron has called on Europe to boost investment in strategic sectors or risk being "swept aside" in the face of competition from the United States and China, in an interview published Tuesday.

The French leader warned that US "threats" and "intimidation" were not over and urged against complacency, in an interview with several European publications including France's Le Monde, English language publications The Economist and The Financial Times, and Germany's Suddeutsche Zeitung.

Ahead of an EU meeting on competitiveness this week, he advocated for "simplifying" and "deepening the EU's single market", and for "diversifying" trade partnerships.

"We are currently in a phase I would call a 'Greenland moment'," Macron said.

US President Donald Trump last month threatened to annex the autonomous Danish territory of Greenland and impose tariffs on any European countries that opposed him, but then performed a U-turn.

"There are threats and intimidation. And then, suddenly, Washington backs down. And we think it's over. But don't believe it for a second. Every day, there are threats against pharmaceuticals, digital technology..." he said.

"When there is blatant aggression... we must not bow down or try to reach a settlement," he said.

"We tried this strategy for months, and it's not working. But above all, it strategically leads Europe to increase its dependence."

He said the European Union's public and private investment needed around 1.2 trillion euros ($1.4 trillion) per year, including green and digital technologies, defence and security.

And he renewed his call for common European debt, an idea France has championed for years, but other countries have rejected.

"Now is the time to launch a common borrowing capacity for these future expenditures, future-oriented Eurobonds," he said.


ADVERTISEMENT





Space News from SpaceDaily.com
The Race Is On: Artemis, China and Musk Turn the Moon Into the Next Strategic High Ground
Voyager wins NASA ISS mission management role through 2030
UK backs new electric propulsion hub for satellite engines

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Amazonian fish skin biofilm tested as greener food packaging option
Muon study clarifies superconducting behavior in strontium ruthenate
Experiments settle debate over how Molybdenum 93 isomer releases stored energy

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Teledyne infrared sensors selected for SDA Tranche 3 tracking layer
Lockheed Martin debuts Lamprey undersea mission vehicle
Airbus and Hisdesat extend deal to market next generation PAZ-2 radar imagery

24/7 News Coverage
Satellite study revises methane loss high in Earth atmosphere
No fences needed: GPS collars show 'virtual fencing' is next frontier of livestock grazing
Landsat study maps boreal forest shift north



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.