Media: Macron changes his position on NATO enlargement and supports Ukraine's membership

As reported by Bloomberg, the French president has reconsidered his position on NATO expansion and is ready to support Ukraine's membership in NATO. Other sources expressed skepticism about the change in the French position on NATO expansion.

French President Emmanuel Macron has abandoned Paris' long-standing opposition to NATO expansion and is "trying to make up for lost time" by paving the way for Ukraine not only to join the military bloc, but also the European Union, Bloomberg reported, citing European diplomats. During his recent trip to Bratislava, Macron said:

"The question is not whether we should expand or not, or even when – for me, it should happen as soon as possible – but how we do it."

Macron has realized that he must be "on the right side of history," but there is still work to be done on that front, an unnamed French diplomat told the news agency.

Many officials, who agreed to speak anonymously, were surprised by Macron's change of heart, some were rather skeptical. One senior European official even called it "chit-chat," while another opined that Macron realized that his efforts to strike up a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin were not working.

Other sources insist that Macron's change of heart is nevertheless important. By supporting Eastern Europe's two main demands – closer coordination with NATO and a clear roadmap for Ukraine's membership – Macron is changing the balance of power within the EU at a time when its political focus is shifting eastwards.

An unnamed Eastern European diplomat said that France's accession to Ukraine's "fierce supporters" – Poland and the Baltic states – helped fill the void left by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz with his cautious stance. The diplomat agreed that it is a significant change that creates a new alliance between France and the countries of Eastern Europe at a time of growing friction between Paris and Berlin.

Other diplomats said Macron combined his public rhetoric (he had previously said that Ukraine's accession to the European Union would take years) with behind-the-scenes lobbying to persuade Kiev to start the EU accession process, while reluctantly holding out the prospect of such an option for Albania and North Macedonia (both countries have been official candidates for years, while Ukraine received this status only last year).

Macron called on Europe to pledge bilateral security guarantees and offer protection to Ukraine at the NATO summit in Vilnius (on July 11-12) before it joins the alliance. This could be done along the lines of US support for Israel. At the same time, Macron will have to do much more if he wants to convince the doubters that he is serious about changing his position, the agency said.

France is a founding member of the North Atlantic Alliance, which was created in 1949. In the mid-1960s, Paris decided to limit its involvement in NATO and withdraw from military structures, while remaining in political structures. French President Charles de Gaulle justified this by citing American dominance in the organization and the US refusal to reshape the bloc in favor of a stronger French position. It was not until 2009 that Paris was fully reintegrated into NATO under President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Bloomberg noted that Macron, like his predecessors, has so far kept a certain distance from the North Atlantic Alliance. In 2019, he declared NATO's "brain death" and noted that Europe could no longer rely on the US for security. Later, he stressed that he did not take back his words, but saw the conflict in Ukraine as a strategic certainty for the alliance, which had previously been lacking.

Russia has repeatedly opposed further NATO expansion. Moscow has described them as a threat to its security. Russian President Vladimir Putin cited Ukraine's desire to join NATO as one of the reasons for the military operation. This desire is enshrined in the Ukrainian Constitution. Kiev applied for membership last year.

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