France’s readiness to show European solidarity in the event of Greece being threatened by Turkey in the Aegean and the Mediterranean was expressed by French President Emmanuel Macron during a speech in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Responding to MEPs’ questions regarding Turkish provocations against Greece, President Macron said defence cooperation and solidarity in the EU was a priority for his country and stressed that as France has expressed its support for Great Britain in the event that the country faced an external threat, France has done so with Greece, having also assured Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

Referring to the immigration and refugee crisis, Emmanuel Macron stated that France would propose strengthening the EU’s external border guard as it is not possible for the countries at the borders of Europe alone to manage the burden of migratory and refugee flows and assured the MEPs that he will also promote the issue of a common European asylum policy so that there are common rules for all the member states.