Macron, NATO hold talks over ‘brain death’ claim

Stoltenberg immediately defended the 70-year-old alliance, which binds the US to defending Europe in the event of attack and vice-versa, and said he would travel to Paris to seek clarification from Macron.

French President Emmanuel Macron (right) welcomes NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg (left) during his arrival at the Elysee palace, in Paris. AFP

PARIS, France (AFP) — NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg will confront Emmanuel Macron in Paris over the French president’s claim the alliance is suffering “brain death,” a charge that has set the stage for a testy NATO summit next week.

Macron delivered his damning assessment in an interview earlier this month with The Economist magazine, in which he lamented the lack of strategic coordination between Europe and the United States.

As further evidence that NATO is in decline, Macron cited NATO member Turkey’s recent intervention against a Western-backed Kurdish militia that had been leading the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria.

Stoltenberg immediately defended the 70-year-old alliance, which binds the US to defending Europe in the event of attack and vice-versa, and said he would travel to Paris to seek clarification from Macron.

“I think that’s the best way to address any differences, to sit down and discuss them and to fully understand the messages and the motivations,” he said.

Macron’s remarks set the tone for a fractious gathering of NATO leaders in London on 3 to 4 December.

A Macron aide said that on Thursday the president would discuss with Stoltenberg “the best way of raising the main issues in the current debate on NATO” at the summit.

These included “strengthening the unity of the alliance and the coordination of allies’ actions” and “Europeans assuming more responsibilities within the alliance,” the aide said.

Macron would also consult other NATO leaders in the run-up to the meeting in London, he added.

French officials have argued that by painting a picture of a moribund NATO, Macron, who has championed the idea of Europe taking charge of its own security, was just speaking the truth, however unpalatable.

But his remarks drew widespread criticism among allies.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned his “sweeping judgments,” while US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that “European unity cannot replace transatlantic unity.”

At a ceremony Wednesday to sign a $1-billion contract to modernize NATO’s fleet of AWACS reconnaissance planes, Stoltenberg again rejected the idea the alliance was outdated.