French Minister of European Affairs Clement Byrne stated that the crisis of Australia’s cancellation of the submarine agreement has become a European issue, not just a French issue; at the same time, French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to work together in the Indo-Pacific region.
Byrne welcomed the EU’s support and emphasized that this is a European issue, not just a French issue. The EU must defend its own interests more firmly.
Byrne added that France is evaluating all options to deal with Australia’s abandonment of the $40 billion submarine contract and urged Britain to respect its obligations to the European Union after Brexit.
Byrne called France and AustralianowThe relationship is “very difficult”.
Australia said last week that it would cancel orders for French conventional submarines and build at least eight nuclear-powered submarines using American and British technology under a new security partnership called AUKUS.
The cancellation of the transaction angered France, which accused Australia and the United States of “stabbing in the back” and recalled its ambassadors in Canberra and Washington.
In response, Josep Borrell, the head of EU foreign policy, emphasized the unity of the EU and France.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas also expressed solidarity with France. Maas told reporters at the United Nations, “I understand the anger of French friends. This way of making decisions is disturbing and disappointing, not only for France.”
“What we have seen makes things more complicated, and I think this situation will continue for some time,” he added.
European diplomatic sources said that the European Union’s ambassador to Brussels decided to postpone the discussion with the US Trade Relations Committee originally scheduled to be held in Pennsylvania at the end of this month to protest the submarine agreement between the United States and Australia at the expense of France.
US officials said that President Joe Biden is seeking a phone call with Macron in the next few days to ease tensions, but the call has not yet taken place.
On the other hand, the French Presidential Palace announced that Macron and Modi agreed on the phone to “cooperate to establish an open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.”
This announcement comes at a time when France is angry about Australia’s withdrawal from the submarine contract.
Macron assured Modi that France will continue to work to strengthen India’s strategic independence, including its industrial and technological foundations, and establish close relations on the basis of trust and mutual respect.
In recent days, Indian media speculated that Australia’s cancellation of the submarine deal may prompt France and India to negotiate a submarine agreement, which may include technology transfer.
Financial compensation
In another case, according to the French Ministry of Defense, the French Navy Group negotiated with the Australian authorities about possible economic compensation after Australia terminated the huge transaction for the purchase of submarines.
The ministry told reporters in an audio conference on the “submarine crisis” that experts from the Navy Group and Australians are discussing compensation.
The French Ministry of Armed Forces once again criticized Australia’s “betrayal”, stressing that they “never discussed with the French authorities” Australia’s decision to switch to the purchase of nuclear-powered submarines, nor did it inform the negotiations with the United States.
France emphasized that the proof of this is that on September 15th, Australian engineers and the army approved the review of the French plan in an official document called the “planned function review end notice”, which means that Australia is satisfied with it. , “We can move on.”
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