ANKARA, July 8 - France's President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday he would use a summit of Ukraine's allies next week to unveil new defence initiatives and joint military exercises, presenting the gathering as further evidence that Europe was assuming greater responsibility for its own security.

More than seven years after declaring NATO was suffering from "brain death", Macron said at the alliance's annual summit in Ankara that Europe had shown it was investing more in defence, defending its sovereignty and developing strategic autonomy within NATO.

The July 13 meeting, expected to bring together around 35 leaders of the Coalition of the Willing, will focus on tackling Russia's shadow fleet, new military capabilities for Ukraine, greater mobilisation of defence industries and deeper operational cooperation among Kyiv's backers, Macron said.

A long-time champion of European strategic autonomy, Macron argued that Russia's war in Ukraine and uncertainty over long-term U.S. military commitments had accelerated Europe's efforts to build up its own defence capabilities while remaining anchored within NATO.

Macron ignited a fierce debate among allies in 2019 when he declared NATO was experiencing "brain death", citing what he saw as a lack of strategic coordination and the unpredictability of then-U.S. President Donald Trump.

As he enters the final year of his presidency, Macron used the Ankara summit to argue that many of the changes he had long advocated were now taking shape, from higher European defence spending to a greater operational role within the alliance and efforts to build a stronger European defence industrial base.

"France has long advocated that Europeans must support and defend a European defence industry. If we spend more, it should not simply be to buy non-European equipment," he said.

Macron said Europe was developing its own missile-defence systems, long-range precision-strike capabilities, early-warning networks and artificial-intelligence-enabled command systems.

He sought to play down lingering concerns over Washington's commit...