May 9 is not merely a commemorative date.

Europe Day recalls the founding ambition of a Europe capable of ensuring peace, stability, and the sovereignty of its peoples. Yet, in the world now taking shape, this ambition cannot remain unfinished. We Europeans must now fully assume a strategic defense autonomy from the United States.

For more than seventy years, the security of our continent has largely depended on the American military umbrella through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO guaranteed peace in Western Europe during the Cold War and remains today an essential pillar of collective security.

But geopolitical realities have changed. The United States is gradually shifting its strategic priorities toward the Indo-Pacific, while crises on Europe’s borders are multiplying: wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, energy tensions, cyberattacks, hybrid threats, and the return of power politics.

We can no longer depend exclusively on Washington’s political choices

In the face of these challenges, we can no longer depend exclusively on Washington’s political choices and the erratic decisions of the Trump Administration. The transatlantic friendship must remain strong, but a lasting alliance cannot rest on one-sided dependence. Partners respect one another more when they are capable of acting on their own.

European strategic autonomy means neither a break with the United States nor hostility toward NATO. It means having the capacity to decide and act independently whenever our interests require it. This presupposes a unified decision-making chain, a European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB), shared military and intelligence capabilities, a sovereign energy policy, and massive investment in critical technologies: space, cyber defense, artificial intelligence, and maritime security.

Our European Union represents a major economic power, but it will remain a geopolitically insignificant actor as long as it does not fully control its own security. A Europe that depends on others for its defense also depends on others to define its diplomatic priorities. Political sovereignty without strategic sovereignty is an illusion. Likewise, any ambition to uphold the rule of law without possessing a credible deterrent force is pure fantasy.

A democratic power that protects its citizens.

Europe Day must therefore become more than a celebration of past peace: it must be a call to build the European power of tomorrow. A democratic power, committed to international law, cooperation among nations, and the protection of its citizens.

In a world marked by the return of empires and power struggles, Europe can no longer remain merely a market or a currency. It must become a power capable of shaping its own destiny.

History has shown that peoples who permanently delegate their security often end up losing part of their freedom to decide.

To preserve our identity and our democratic and social model, Europe must now take a decisive step: moving from a Europe of prosperity to a Europe of power, a federal Europe!