Macron urges EU countries to buy weapons from Europe, not US
French President Emmanuel Macron is seeking to persuade EU countries to stop buying military equipment from the United States and buy European weapons instead. In particular, French defence equipment instead of American.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by Politico.
"My intention is to go and convince European states that have become accustomed to buying American (military equipment - Ed.). Those who buy Patriot (SAMS - Ed.) should be offered the new-generation Franco-Italian SAMP/T. Those who buy the F-35, should be offered the Rafale. That's the way to increase the rate of production," Macron said in an interview with the French media.
He also noted that he had asked French defence companies to cut red tape and reduce costs to become a more attractive option for customers, Nice-Matin reported.
Politico writes that in March, the Netherlands and Belgium confirmed that they would buy US F-35 fighter jets. At the same time, Portugal is hesitating to replace its F-16 fighter jets with the more modern F-35.
