The European political order “is in danger today”, said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in his annual speech to French ambassadors, quoted by Agence France-Presse, BTA reported.
“No, European civilization will not disappear. But yes, our political order is currently in danger, despite its precious stability in an unpredictable world, despite its enormous scientific, technological, cultural and financial wealth,“ said Barrot.
In its national strategy, published in December, the US points out that Europe's economic decline “is overshadowed by the real and more frightening prospects of civilizational obliteration“.
“No, Europe is not on the brink of civilizational obliteration and it would be better for the arrogant voices who claim this to protect themselves from obliteration,“ replied the French foreign minister.
However, the EU is “threatened from without by adversaries who are trying to unravel the bonds of solidarity that bind us“, and “from within – "from democracy fatigue," Barrot warned.
"Let me be clear: today there are no guarantees that in ten years we will still be living in the EU as we know it," he warned.
The US is "an ally with whom we do not always agree," Barrot added. "In just a few months, the new US administration has decided - and it is its right - to rethink its relations with us. However, it is also our right to say "no" to a historic ally, however long-standing, when its proposal is unacceptable and when we must say "no," the French foreign minister stressed.
The world is "facing the risk of nuclear proliferation" due to the erosion of the legal framework for arms control and the expiration of the “New START“ treaty, Barrot also warned.
The “New START“ treaty was the last bilateral nuclear arms control treaty between the United States and Russia. It expires on February 5, and the conference to review the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) - the basis of all nuclear security - scheduled for April in New York, according to experts, could end in a diplomatic failure, AFP notes.