On a short visit to Brussels, the former French minister for the economy, Emmanuel Macron, sketched out his vision of a decentralised process for a new-style European Union.
"We will get nowhere fast using the intergovernmental method", said Macron (who may stand in the French presidential elections of spring 2017) on Thursday 20 October. He went on to say that the results of the informal meeting of 27 countries in Bratislava were the proof that the European Council has no part to play in a redesigned Europe, and that its strength lay in managing crises (see EUROPE 11626).
Macron said that it is possible for the Community method to return to centre-stage whilst supporting the creation of a Europe of several speeds. On the basis of proposals previously made by the former Italian prime minister, Mario Monti, and Sylvie Goulard (ALDE, France), he hit out at the refuseniks who are holding back the countries that wish to move forward towards greater European integration, pointing out in passing that "Europe is already multi-polar".
Macron called for democratic conventions to be organised in each member state, as a forum for debate on diagnosing the situation in Europe and discussing the possible directions in which the bloc may evolve. Aspirations expressed at grassroots level would be referred up the chain to promote a convergence of opinions and lead to a common vision, that would then be fed into a roadmap for a redesigned Europe.
"In societies in crisis, the relationship with the outside world becomes a problem" and crystallises tension, Macron said, referring by way of example to trade negotiations with third countries and the migration challenge. Stressing that he can understand the relevant concerns expressed by Wallonia, he called for the CETA agreement with Canada to be signed, as this debate has come too late in the day. That said, injecting transparency into trade negotiations at the earliest possible stage and setting up fora to change the parameters of the negotiation positions would be the best way of striking a new consensus on European trade policy, which, the former minister went on to stress, is still the best sovereignty space of the Europeans in this area. He also wished the UK good luck once it is a third country again and goes off to negotiate a deal with China, predicting that the British will be "eaten for breakfast".
On the eurozone, Macron commented that the creation of financial instruments has not led to a convergence of the economies. He called for common ground to be sought between the need for responsible budgetary policies and the need to show solidarity. "If there are no transfers within the eurozone, it will no longer exist in ten years' time", he warned. What needs to be done? First of all, France needs to restore confidence by demonstrating its ability to reform, and Germany needs to set aside its fascination with over-consolidation and its rejection of solidarity, the politician argued. He feels that it would be better to give the eurozone borrowing capacity than to create a specific tax to feed into a eurozone budgetary capacity. And from a democratic point of view, when it comes to decisions made for the eurozone, the checks and balances would have to be carried out at European level by a Parliament. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)