Press statement

M. le Président, Cher Emmanuel,

Thank you for your warm welcome on my first official visit to Paris since taking office in this new job.

We have known each other for many years and worked together and built a close friendship when I was Prime Minister of the Netherlands.

With your military capabilities and armed forces, France keeps NATO strong every day.

You lead, as you said, our multinational battlegroup in Romania, and you have deployed forces to Estonia.

A French SAMP/T air defence system protects NATO’s borders in the Black Sea.

French jets regularly patrol the Baltic skies.

And France’s nuclear capabilities contribute to the overall security of the Alliance.

We meet at a delicate moment for global peace and security.

Russia continues its onslaught against Ukraine, all the while drawing ever closer to its allies, China, and Iran, and North Korea.

After delivering ammunition and ballistic missiles, North Korea has now sent troops to fight and die alongside Russia in its illegal war. In return, Russia provides North Korea with funding and missile technology. This is very concerning. These missiles present a direct threat to the United States mainland, to Europe, to the Indo Pacific and to the wider Euro Atlantic. And when I say the Indo Pacific that includes South Korea and Japan.

Every day, Ukrainians are killed and wounded by the deadly Shahed drones designed and supplied by Iran. With the money gained from arms sales to Russia, Iran and its proxies destabilize the Middle East and fund terrorism further afield.

At the same time, China backs Russia’s economy, enables its defence industry, and amplifies its narrative on the world stage.

Russia, working together with North Korea, Iran and China is not only threatening Europe, it threatens peace and security, yes, here in Europe, but also in the Indo Pacific and in North America.

So, we must stand together – Europe, North America and our global partners - to keep our people safe and prosperous.

And in doing so, we have to keep our transatlantic Alliance strong. The immediate challenge we face, obviously, is support for Ukraine. And I want to thank you for everything you have done over the last two and a half years.

France has delivered advanced artillery guns, air defence systems, cruise missiles and armoured vehicles.
You were among the first countries to fully train and equip an entire Ukrainian brigade, the Anne of Kiev Brigade. And you have pledged to send Mirage fighter jets early next year.

Today, of course, we will discuss the importance of keeping up the support as Ukrainians prepare to face what could be their harshest winter since 2022.

We must recommit to stay in the course for the long haul.
And we must do more than just keep Ukraine in the fight.

We need to raise the cost for Putin and his enabling authoritarian friends, by providing Ukraine with the support it needs to change the trajectory of the conflict.

Dear Emmanuel,

The second major challenge is enhancing the defence of our Alliance in this more dangerous world.

We have made significant progress in boosting our defence industrial capacity and production, and replenishing our stockpiles.
But to go faster, we need more robust transatlantic defence cooperation.

And more defence investment.

The more we spend on defence, the more we reduce the risk of future conflict.

And I want to welcome that France will invest more than 2% of GDP in defence this year.

I also commend you for your ambitious defence budgets for the next seven years.

Maintaining high levels of defence investment keeps our defence credible, our industry strong - and I just visited Thales this morning - and our one billion people safe.

Cher Emmanuel,
C’était un vrai plaisir d’être à Paris aujourd’hui.