Is It Macron's 'Grand Plan To Dominate The EU'? - Also Seeks Increased Military Spending

What is Macron up to? Merkel suspects 'crafty' French plot to snatch UK's top spot in EU

ALESSANDRA SCOTTO DI SANTOLO

EMMANUEL MACRON's ambition for more strategic autonomy in the EU is raising eyebrows in Berlin, with Angela Merkel suspecting the French leader wants to replace the UK at the top seat of the bloc's table.

The French President has longed for more military autonomy for the bloc since his ascent to power in 2017. Mr Macron's vision is for the EU to have a clear defence identity within NATO, pushing for greater European military spending.

In 2019, the French leader said NATO was "brain dead" and that the EU needed to step up its game when it comes to security.

But the idea is raising concerns among Angela Merkel's CDU circles as they see the French leader's grand plan as an attempt to dominate in the EU now that Brexit Britain has left the bloc.

One senior French government official told Head of Eurasia Group, Mujtaba Rahman: “Macron may be right to put defence and increased military spending at the heart of his argument for a stronger and more political Europe, but it’s inevitably seen in other capitals —especially Berlin — as a crafty way of putting France at the centre of the top table.”

When it comes to defence and security, the two leaders have already locked horns on a cross-country project for a new Combat Jet.

Costing more than 100 billion euros, the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) brings together Germany, France and Spain to forge an array of weapons amid deepening European defence cooperation.

The German Chancellor and French President kicked off the ambitious venture in 2017, when the EU was rattled by Britain's decision to leave the bloc and deeply divided over other issues such as the migrant crisis.

But some sources close to the project have warned the plans have become tangled in suspicion and divergences between Berlin and Paris.

Mr Macron's comments on NATO's "brain death", coupled with his decision to seek more cooperation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, had caused consternation among some European allies, especially in eastern Europe, which sees the United States as the only credible protection from neighbouring Russia.