In Strasbourg on Tuesday 17 April, France’s President Emmanuel Macron was the fourth European leader to address the European Parliament. He spoke on the subject of Europe’s future, seeking to inject energy into the idea of more Europe and in favour of “a new European sovereignty” as the only alternative to proposals for “a Europe in decline” – which is something he does not want.
Macron’s plan for the rebuilding of Europe is widely known since the presidential speech he gave at the Sorbonne (see EUROPE 11870). He spoke during two and a half hours before MEPs. He took a tough tone at times, especially on the subject of French, British and American airstrikes in Syria that he said were legitimate, in response to those (from the ranks of the GUE/NGL, EFDD and ENF Groups) who criticised the fact that there was no international mandate for action and the alignment of two European countries on American policy.
A new European sovereignty “stronger than ours”, Macron said, is the only response to fear, at a time when multilateralism is being brought into question, and “at a time of major changes linked to the digital world and to climate change”. Also, he said, the European elections in May 2019 should be an opportunity for the EU to conduct its battle “on our ideals and two convictions: not to abandon democracy and not to take the wrong track”. “We must build a new European sovereignty that protects the citizens. In the face of authoritarianism, there is no authoritarian democracy but the authority of democracy”, the French president said.
“Defending the idea of European sovereignty does not mean defending an abstract idea. It is acknowledging that, in order to give the right answers to the major changes taking place in the world, we need a sovereignty that is stronger than the one we have today”, Macron said.
That sovereignty has five faces: democratic sovereignty, economic and commercial sovereignty, security and defence, energy and climate sovereignty, and digital sovereignty.
The French president ardently defended European values and the European democratic model. That model “is unique in the world” and “has not become outdated” but it must meet the environmental and digital challenges and it “differentiates us from authoritarian powers and some partners who reject multilateralism”, such as the United States, when it comes to climate and trade.
New proposal. President Macron spoke of the migration challenge which raises the question of solidarity between member states in the context of reform of the European asylum system. He suggested launching “a European programme that supports local communities that take in refugees”. That support, via the EU budget, was the new proposal put forward on Tuesday.
Refuting the idea that peoples no longer want Europe, the French president was abrasive towards those who sought to win voters by boasting of the virtues of Brexit, slamming “those who propose paths of gold only to withdraw” and those who propose to “destroy Europe without rebuilding it”.
Members of the EPP, S&D, ALDE and Greens/EFA Groups applauded the president.
Critical debate on Europe. Convinced that “the peoples need a new project”, Macron called for a “critical debate” with citizen consultation launched the same day in France.
On 1 June this year, 2,000 young people will be discussing the future of Europe at the European Parliament, the Parliament's president, Antonio Tajani, said, inviting Macron to take part.
“The real France is back!”, declared European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker with pleasure. He pointed out, as did many other deputies, that the Franco-German axis is indeed very important, but that the EU has 28 member states. He called for keeping the prospect of EU membership for the Western Balkans open (see related article).
Macron said he was in favour of preventing the risk of “a shift towards Turkey or Russia”, while giving his assurance that there will be no EU enlargement without deepening or prior reforms, so that we do not “continue galumphing around with 30 or 32 members with the same rules”.
Manfred Weber of Germany, who leads the EPP Group, backed Macron’s vision. “Europe is more than the Franco-German axis”, he said. He went on to say: true democracy is a Parliament in which every citizen has a voice and where it represents all political sensitivities.
Speaking on behalf of the ALDE Group, Guy Verhofstadt of Belgium hailed Macron’s vision of Europe. He only regrets that “the European army is still not in existence” and denounced the illusion of a common foreign policy “due to the unanimity rule which is an aberration”, the absence of a banking Union and governance for the eurozone, as well as the “authoritarian slide in Poland and especially in Hungary”.
The new president of the S&D Group, Udo Bullmann of Germany, said that “given the enemies of Europe, and fake news, we need a strong Europe”, especially when it comes to the protection of private data. He called for the EU to show proof of unity when confronted by the massacre in Syria, at a time when it is necessary to strengthen the European institutions, and the roles of the EU high representative for foreign affairs and that of the UN secretary general.
The leader of the ECR Group, Syed Kamall of Britain, expressed the same satisfaction regarding the vision of an ever closer Europe. However, he warned, “a larger budget and a European finance ministry is not the right vision for all member states”.
Philippe Lamberts of Belgium, who heads the Greens/EFA Group, said he praised the vision of more Europe but was critical of Macron’s liberal project, of his very tough policy against unlawful migrants in France, and the violent evacuation and destruction at Notre Dame des Landes.
“Your action in France tells quite a different story from liberty, equality and fraternity - with arrests being made on suspicion only. What equality is there in making gifts to the rich? What fraternity is there when you sell arms or in your draft law on asylum and immigration? Should one contain or should there be refoulment?”, Lamberts asked.
Such an outburst was not to Macron’s liking. He replied dryly speaking of the rule of law and the need to improve the hosting of legal migrants and candidates eligible for asylum and to make the returns policy for illegal migrants more effective.
Speaking on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group, Patrick Le Hyaric of France found it paradoxical that Macron should speak of a sovereign Europe “at the very time when he has taken the decision to bombard Syria with Trump and Theresa May disregarding the international framework”. He spoke of “double standards” when Israel kills with impunity, when Turkey takes over Afrin, and when Saudi Arabia bombards Yemen.
Addressing all those who criticised the latest western strikes in Syria (see EUROPE 12002), Macron replied that Syria “was nothing like Libya” where the former French president Nicolas Sarkozy and former British prime minister David Cameron acted militarily to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi. “We have destroyed three sites without a victim. Counter-terrorism – that is the only war we are conducting”, he said, giving his assurance that the priority was to continue with humanitarian and political work within the UN framework.
Macron invited all countries to join with France which has announced that €50 million would be granted in humanitarian aid for NGOs in Syria. “We will not build the future of Syria if we allow Bashar al-Assad to continue the work he is doing”, he said. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)