Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – On 16 November, the Parisian edition of Le Grand Continent published an interview with French President E. Macron, which sets out the position of the French leader on trends in the development of international relations. Experts assess this interview as a preface to "France’s new doctrine in world affairs."

Le Grand Continent is the journal of the leading French think tank, Geopolitical Research Group. The magazine is published in English, German, Spanish, Italian and Polish.

E. Macron believes that international cooperation is currently experiencing a deep crisis, and it is necessary to "rethink effective forms of interaction", modernize structures and "restore the balance of relations."

The head of state of France sees a way out of the situation in two actions.

First, it is necessary to “reopen the channels of international cooperation”. According to the French leader, "the framework of multilateral partnership is weakened today because it is blocked."

As E. Macron notes, 2020 can be a difficult and significant year, similar to 1945, 1968 and 2007. As he stressed, “we live in a time when humanity is facing an accumulation of crises,” meaning not only the COVID-19 epidemic and terrorism, but also the problems of climate change, biodiversity, and inequality.

The deep collapse of cooperation is a crisis engendered by conflicting values, including the rise of neoconservatism and the violation of the universal principle of inviolable human rights. This rupture, "is the fruit of an ideological choice fully endorsed by the major powers who see it as a means of increasing power and destruction."

Calling for a rethinking of international cooperation, E. Macron sharply criticized the UN Security Council in its current form. In his opinion, the UN Security Council "currently does not make any useful decisions and can no longer cope with the role of arbiter in international affairs."

Also, almost all countries have some responsibility "when some agencies, such as the World Health Organization, are held hostage to crises of multilateralism."

Secondly, E. Macron proposes “to build a much stronger Europe”, which should defend a single position in the renewed international structures.

As the French leader emphasized, "it is vital that Europe finds ways and means so that it can rely only on itself, not depend on others in all areas, be it technology, healthcare, geopolitics, and be able to cooperate with anyone."

E. Macron said that "this is the only way to impose European values in order to avoid the Sino-American duopoly, the return of the confrontation between regional powers."

In particular, E. Macron spoke in favor of a strategy of European defense independent of the United States. The EU must "strengthen its sovereignty" regardless of how the US presidential administration changes after the elections. According to him, "the United States will not respect European countries as allies if they do not take themselves seriously, and are not independent with their own defense system."

E. Macron explains his point of view by the fact that “although the USA was a historical ally of Europe and adhered to similar principles, the values do not quite coincide. Europeans have an attachment to social democracy, to greater equality, unlike the United States. It is argued that "the EU countries should do so for themselves, as the US and China do for themselves."

In this vein, E. Macron openly criticized the Minister of Defense of the Federal Republic of Germany A. Karrenbauer, who rejected the idea of strategic independence of Europe. In his opinion, this point of view is a "historical misinterpretation" and noted that German Chancellor Angela Merkel does not follow this line.

In general, against the backdrop of continuing crises and unrest on the world stage, the French leader calls for a radical revision of the established world order. He argues that Europe must fight against "a colossal step back in history" and pursue a more active, independent and coherent foreign policy.