Haddad visited Estonia on Monday and attended the 106th anniversary of the Tartu Peace Treaty ceremony with Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200).

He is one of the authors of the idea of European strategic autonomy and one of the most prominent supporters of Ukraine in the corridors of power in Paris. Haddad has been a minister for two years and was last interviewed by ERR in 2022 when he was a think tank analyst. During his brief time as a minister, he has outlasted three prime ministers.

 Haddad told ETV's foreign affairs show "Välisilm" that these are turbulent times in French domestic politics.

"It's been a rocky in the last year, but we've managed to build, compromise and pass the budget both the social security and the national budget. We continue to increase our defense spending, which is really key, over the two terms of the Macron presidency will have doubled the budget spending of France. And, you know, at the end of the day, what's really important is that the voice that we have on defence, security and European matters has always been the same and constant ever since 2017 and the accession of President Macron to power and his Sorbonne speech on European sovereignty. We stand for a united, strong, sovereign Europe that's able to project its power and defend its interests and values on the world stage," Haddad told the show.

The minister is an outspoken supporter of Ukraine and led the parliamentary friendship group with Ukraine. Haddad said it is not difficult to find broad support in the French parliament for Kyiv.

"On key European and defense issues, there is actually a majority and strong support at the National Assembly. There's been support, for example, on the defence budget, as well, that goes beyond partisan lines. So on these key strategic issues, we've put politics aside to support precisely having a strong European voice on the world stage," he said.

During Donald Trump's first term, Haddad wrote a book titled Paradise Lost, in which he outlined the idea of European strategic autonomy. Now, France is leading the charge for greater independence from the United States, and has been given a boost by Washington's comments over Greenland.

"I think at the end of the day, we need to be much more independent and resilient. We have historic partners and allies, and Europe should continue to be open to these partnerships. But we also need to understand that we are in a changing world. This is not new. Barack Obama was talking about the pivot to Asia. Joe Biden put protectionism measures against Europe. We've had the first Trump administration. Now we have a second one that's even sometimes targeting Europeans like we've seen in Denmark. What does that mean? That means that we have to be much more self-sufficient on defense and security, on tech, on energy, on all these areas where our dependencies can become vulnerabilities, can become risks that are weaponized by others. With 450 million people, we have everything we need to be a strong power. So it's a question of mindset, and it's a question of putting the resources in investment and cooperate together. I think that's absolutely critical," Haddad said.

Over the past year, U.S. President Donald Trump has actively engaged in peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Meetings have taken place in Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, and Turkey, but Europeans have not been invited to the table. Haddad disagrees with the notion that Europeans play no role in the process.

"I think we are playing an important role in this conversation because if you look at the coalition of the willing, we are working with the Americans and the Ukrainians to prepare the day after. But it's also showing a very strong sign that there can be no peace agreement without the Europeans and without the Ukrainians. Second, if you look at the reality on the ground, the truth is that Ukrainians want peace and President Zelenskyy has been very open about wanting peace and being open to diplomacy. Americans want peace. Europeans want peace. The only country that continues to escalate, that continues to refuse to engage seriously in diplomacy is Russia," the minister said.

After Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, it became a pariah state with most European countries cutting communication. However, Macron has recently spoken of the need to resume dialogue with President Vladimir Putin.

"There is a moment – and this is what my president has said openly – where we need to ask ourselves, do we re-engage with Russia? We have to be very clear. Russia is a threat to Europe. Russia is a threat to France. We've had interference. We've had cyberattacks. We've had threats. But do we leave the Americans alone in the room and the negotiation, or do we also take part in our own negotiation to support Ukraine, coordinated with your European allies and with your Ukrainian friends in the diplomacy with Russia? That is the question that is being asked today," said France's Minister for European Affairs.

You can watch the interview at the top of the page. Haddad's comments are in English with Estonian subtitles.

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