French President Emmanuel Macron called on Thursday for stronger, more integrated European defences as he outlined his vision for a more assertive European Union on the global stage.In a speech at the Sorbonne University in Paris,

Emmanuel Macron has warned that the EU is facing a “mortal” threat from economic decline, rising illiberalism, and return of war caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Europe must escape from its self-imposed naivety or face the risk of dying. That was the stark warning at the heart of a major speech on the EU by French President Emmanuel Macron Thursday in Paris.