During his two-day visit to Portugal, French President Emmanuel Macron called on Europeans to be more united and stronger than ever and not to become “happy vassals“ of the US. This call was made by Macron on the first day of his state visit to Portugal, BTA reports.
Yesterday he was in Lisbon, and today he is heading to Porto. This is the first state visit by a French leader to Portugal in the last 25 years, Agence France-Presse reported.
Yesterday Macron was received by Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Luís Montenegro. A state reception was organized in honor of Macron and his wife Brigitte at the Ajuda Palace in Lisbon. The French president also spoke to the Portuguese parliament.
The French leader's visits underscore the depth and intensity of the bilateral relationship between the two countries. But Macron also used the occasion to reiterate the messages he has been sending to Europeans for some time. He urged them to rediscover a taste for risk, ambition and power, in the context of the unpredictability of Donald Trump's administration in the United States.
“I see many people in our Europe saying that we should be nice to the Americans, that we should bow down to them“, Macron said during a meeting with entrepreneurs at a startup incubator in Lisbon. “But the answer is not submission.
I am not for a happy vassalage“, he stressed. "Europeans must be more united and strong than ever, and that is why we must make very thoughtful decisions on technology, industry and defense issues," Macron added during his speech to the Portuguese parliament.
Macron also described Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Washington to sign an agreement to develop Ukrainian minerals as a "very good development."
"I tried to explain the importance of Ukraine and its existential struggle for sovereignty and security for all Europeans," Macron said, referring to his own visit to Washington on February 24. Agence France-Presse notes that this could be an attempt by Macron to present himself as a leader of the Old Continent.
Portuguese Prime Minister Luiz Montenegro congratulated Macron on his remarkable work on the international stage and his efforts to achieve positive measures in support of peace in Ukraine and other conflict regions. In response, Macron praised Franco-Portuguese relations as the basis for a stronger Europe, which he regularly calls for.
Proof of this closeness is the fact that nearly 2 million Portuguese or descendants of Portuguese live in France, and France has a significant presence in Portugal, with around 1,200 French companies and 10,000 employees.
Today, during the second day of their visit, Macron and the Montenegrin Prime Minister will sign a number of agreements in Porto, including a treaty of friendship and cooperation. Among the other agreements are those for cooperation in areas such as science, cinema and defense. Portugal will confirm its commitment to purchase 36 French self-propelled howitzers “César“ by 2034.
Yesterday, Macron and Montenegro underlined their unanimity on the issue of protecting the world's oceans by signing a joint declaration highlighting their commitment to the fight against illegal fishing and a moratorium on seabed mining.