Germany: Macron’s vision for NATO can divide Europe

BERLIN

Germany Thursday continued its criticism of French President Emmanuel Macron on NATO’s future, warning that his recent proposals could create new divisions in Europe.

Speaking at a foreign policy conference in Berlin, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas underlined that NATO, which Macron described as “brain dead”, should remain as the central pillar of European security.

“Thought experiments on decoupling of American and European security worries me, and not only for our own security. I have the fear that these would divide Europe,” he stressed.

Earlier this month Macron raised doubts about NATO’s future viability by arguing that the Europeans should reduce their dependency on the Americans and create their own common defense structure.

Macron’s remarks were sharply criticized by the leaders of central and eastern European countries, including Poland, Lithuania and Estonia.