France will press for a bolder European Union security strategy when it assumes the rotating presidency next year, aiming to turn the continent into a global power with a decisive role in promoting a more just and effective world order.

In his first major foreign policy speech as France's president, Nicolas Sarkozy described the EU as a model of effective multilateralism that boasted a full range of instruments to address international crises, including military force, humanitarian assistance and financial aid. "Europe must progressively affirm itself as a first-rank player for peace and security, in co-operation with the United Nations, the Atlantic alliance and the African Union," he said.

Addressing top French diplomats, Mr Sarkozy identified three main global challenges: to prevent an ideological confrontation between Islam and the west; to accommodate emerging powers such as China, India and Brazil; and to combat dangers such as global warming, pandemics and competition for energy supplies.

Mr Sarkozy said nation states, which were still at the heart of the global order, were not well- suited to dealing with such challenges. Their capacity for action was constrained by financial interests, media influence, criminal networks and terrorists.

Unilateral force, as used by the US in Iraq, led to failure, while some multilateral institutions, such as the UN or Nato, were also struggling to prove their effectiveness in Darfur and Afghanistan.

"[Europe] alone has accumulated, during the long process of building the community, the practical experience of a shared sovereignty that corresponds well to the demands of our times," he said.

"The construction of Europe will remain the absolute priority of our foreign policy," he added. "France is not strong without Europe, just as Europe is not strong without France."

He said Europe had to develop a common vision of the main challenges facing it and how best to re­s­pond to them. But first it needed to improve its conduct of joint military operations and ra­tionalise its arms procurement policies. Although Europe should be allied to the US, its interests would not always be aligned, he added.

Mr Sarkozy had tough words on Russia, which he accused of exhibiting a "certain brutality" in using its energy assets. "When one is a great power, one should not be brutal," Mr Sarkozy said.

He repeated his objections to full Turkish membership of the EU but supported talks with Ankara providing they did not presuppose accession.