Europe Needs to Get Stronger to Defend Own Interests - French Finance Minister

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Europe needs to become stronger in order to defend its own interests amid the booming strength of China and the United States focusing exclusively on matters of its concern, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Thursday.

"Many nations are waiting for Europe to be stronger. And that is exactly the challenge that we have to face. We have China, which is booming. We have the United States, which is defending its own interests in a very strong manner. We need a strong Europe. We need Europe… with own rules, with the capacity of defending own interests… defense interests," Le Maire said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.

READ MORE: Amid Spat With EU, Brexit Britain to Propose Defense Treaty With Defiant Poland

According to Le Maire, European nations need the eurozone to "become a real economic continent" with a banking and capital market union.

The WEF annual meeting started on Tuesday and is set to last through Friday, with over 340 political leaders, including some 70 heads of state and government, expected to attend the event. The forum takes place on an annual basis and is aimed at shaping global and industry agenda by the political, business, and academic leaders.