The European Union must move towards the creation of an EU army after Vladmir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Emmanuel Macron has said. 

The French president said EU leaders would meet to discuss plans to pool military resources on March 10 at a summit in Versailles.

Mr Macron supports the creation of an EU army and the plans could lay the groundwork for that force in the future. He has called on the EU to make itself able to act independently of the US and Nato. 

Europe had to accept it must “pay the price for peace,” Mr Macron, who condemned Mr Putin’s “lies”, said.

“We cannot let others defend ourselves; whether on land, at sea, under the sea, in the air, in space or in cyberspace,” Mr Macron said in a televised speech on Wednesday night.

He added “Our European defence must take a new step”.

Plans for a 5,000 strong EU rapid response force, which could be deployed to crisis zones around the world are expected to be discussed at the defence summit. 

Measures to boost interoperability between national militaries, increase pooled research funding, and defence spending initiatives favouring European companies are also likely to be on the table. 

Mr Macron said he would continue talking to Mr Putin to try and prevent the war spreading. 

His diplomatic efforts to prevent the invasion, which included a visit to Moscow for talks with Mr Putin, failed to prevent the invasion. 

The French president had always planned to use France’s six month term as holders of the EU presidency, which began in January, to push through his plans for common defence.

France, as the EU’s largest remaining military power after Brexit, is set to hold an influential leadership role and its companies will benefit from measures to encourage other member states to buy European weapons. 

Mr Macron secured US President Joe Biden’s support for his plans in the wake of the Aukus row, which saw France miss out on a lucrative submarine contract to the US and UK. 

But an EU army is opposed by the Baltic nations, who fear it will undermine Nato. The UK always vetoed moves towards it when it was an EU member for the same reason.  

It has always been seen as a distant prospect, due to a lack of political will from member states wary of sending their troops into action under an EU flag. 

The EU has had battlegroups of 1,500 soldiers standing by since 2007 but they have never been used.

However, the invasion of Ukraine has already triggered a series of hitherto unthinkable policy shifts across Europe.