France (under deGaulle) tried similar in 66. He thought that Europe, led by France, no longer needed the US 'umbrella' as they were looking to build a French one (and they were miffed at the US over Suez). No other European nations bought in back then - so it went nowhere. France eventually rejoined OTAN/NATO. I'd suspect this is similarly France looking to be the leader of Europe. There's been constant maneuvering post WWII / Bretton Woods.
Post USSR collapse, the US had been getting progressively less interested in paying for the majority of Europe's defense - but the Russian invasion seems to have changed that, at least for now. As far as your article goes, not mentioning '66 suggests you did no research, and given the benefit that goes to Russia if the US departs, I have to wonder about its provenance.