ATHENS — French President Emmanuel Macron visited Athens to renew a 2021 defense partnership between France and Greece that includes a mutual assistance clause in case of an armed attack against either. Macron used the visit to urge the European Union to bolster its own defense capabilities while preserving the NATO alliance.

He said the EU's ongoing push to strengthen its defensive capabilities is not intended to create an alternative to NATO but to answer a long-standing U.S. call for the continent to take charge of its own security. He said Europe must not act to weaken NATO, which connects the continent with its American ally, and that Europeans are now stepping up to meet Washington's demand made over the past decade.

"The lesson we must draw is, let us no longer be dependent," Macron said. "We Europeans must strengthen this European pillar of NATO, we must strengthen this Europe of defense — not against anyone, not as an alternative to anything."

Macron and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the frigate Kimon on Saturday. The 2021 agreement, valued at 3 billion euros, included the purchase of 24 Rafale fighter jets and four state-of-the-art frigates, including the Kimon. Greece has been overhauling its military capabilities, with much of its defense procurement coming from France, including the MICA anti-air missile system, which can be used by aircraft, land forces, and warships.

He said the EU's mutual defense clause in Article 42.7 is not "just empty words." In early March, France and Greece dispatched warships to assist Cyprus after a Shahed drone struck a British base on the island. The mutual assistance provision of the 2021 partnership drew similar attention: he said the clause is inviolable and added, "So there are no question marks, no doubts to be entertained — and all our potential, or real, enemies need to be very clear about that."

The two leaders said the 2021 defense agreement is an example for other EU partners to follow to boost the competitiveness of the 27-member bloc. Mitsotakis urged EU leaders to abandon national egotism that protects domestic industries and pursue more mergers to achieve economies of scale. He said the U.S. should be pleased that the EU is taking its own self-reliance seriously and investing more in its own defense, calling the American demand to spend more justified.

"All of us Europeans — the Franco-Greek relationship is a prime example — need to buy more European products, produce more European goods, and innovate more within Europe," Macron said. He also warned against instigating panic with talk about fuel shortages due to a possible closure of the Strait of Hormuz, from which roughly a fifth of the world's oil and gas passes. He said the fuel supply remains under control and that he does not foresee any shortages, adding that Europe remains focused on helping to reopen the strait and that it will take some time for the situation to return to normal.