French President Emmanuel Macron PARIS, Jan 19 Europe must arm to secure its independence and defend its external borders, said French President Emmanuel Macron. «One of the main problems is related to our security … Europe should arm itself not out of distrust of other powers, no, but to ensure its independence in this world of violence, so as not to suffer from the choice of others to be free,» Macron said in a European Parliament speech on Wednesday. it is necessary to regain control over the borders and the European space in the face of geopolitical turmoil, terrorist threat, illegal immigration, cyber attacks. «We have made great progress in continuing to strengthen the Frontex mechanism. During the French presidency, we will also reform the Schengen area, which is a condition for fulfilling the promise of a free movement zone,» the French leader added. In December, Macron announced that France during its presidency of the Council of the European Union will initiate the reform of the Schengen area. The French Presidency of the Council of the EU for a period of six months began on January 1, 2022.
