Macron warns Europe to end 'naive' trade policies, reduce strategic dependencies

French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a forceful address at the European Industry Summit in Belgium on Wednesday, urging the bloc to adopt a strategic trade policy that reduces dependencies while pursuing mutually beneficial partnerships. Warning that Europe remains "dangerously exposed" despite numerous trade and mineral agreements, Macron called for a fundamental shift from rhetoric to implementation.

Ending Europe's strategic vulnerability

Macron singled out critical raw materials and strategic inputs as areas of acute vulnerability. "We must move from agreements on paper to concrete projects on the ground," he stressed, outlining a comprehensive agenda that includes developing European extraction, processing and refining capacity, investing in recycling and traceability, and building strategic reserves. "Both China and the US, privately and publicly, are investing much more than we are doing. We are lagging behind," he admitted.

Four pillars for European renewal

The French president outlined four pillars necessary for a holistic European industrial strategy: deepening the single market through simplification, diversifying trade partnerships, implementing European preference and protection mechanisms, and pursuing massive investment and innovation. He explicitly rejected both pure protectionism and what he termed the "naive" approach of leaving European producers unprotected while others shield their industries. "I don't believe in protectionism, but I don't believe in such a naive continent where we are the only one in this world not to protect the local producers," Macron stated.

Energy union and common financing

Macron emphasized that competitive industry requires a genuine energy union delivering "stable, predictable, and competitive energy." He called for massive investment in grids and interconnections, long-term contracts, and an integrated European grid to overcome market fragmentation. On financing, Macron argued bluntly: "The only way to finance a common investment is to issue a common debt." He acknowledged that fixing national public finances remains a domestic obligation but insisted that Europe must invest collectively in its industrial future.

From regulator to technology maker

In a striking rebuke of the EU's traditional regulatory focus, Macron declared that Europe must become a "technological maker and not just a regulator." His speech signals growing frustration among major member states with the bloc's perceived inability to translate strategic ambitions into industrial reality, particularly when competing with the scale and speed of US and Chinese investment. For partners like Türkiye, which maintains a customs union with the EU, Macron's call for "European preference" carries significant implications for future trade and industrial cooperation.