With 22 days to go before the start of the French Presidency of the Council of the EU, French President Emmanuel Macron presented, on Thursday 9 December, the priorities of this Presidency which will run from 1 January to 30 June 2022.
“We must move from a Europe of cooperation within our borders to a powerful Europe in the world, free to make its own choices and master of its own destiny”, Mr Macron stressed during a lengthy presentation to the media.
While the slogan of this Presidency is “recovery, power and belonging”, Mr Macron has put forward two important axes: a more sovereign Europe and a new growth model.
European sovereignty
For the French president, a ‘more sovereign Europe’ depends first and foremost on the ability to control its borders. Mr Macron thus proposes to set up a political steering of the Schengen area. He also calls for the creation of an emergency border support mechanism in case of crisis - to strengthen solidarity between Member States - and intends to move forward the migration package, i.e. working with countries of origin and transit, harmonising asylum rules, protecting borders and harmonising the management of secondary flows.
The President intends as well to make progress on defence policy. Under the French Presidency, the ‘Strategic Compass’ will be adopted in March.
Finally, stability in the neighbourhood is one of the conditions of this ‘sovereign Europe’, according to Mr Macron. In this respect, “the relationship with Africa is a priority. The link between our two continents is the greatest political and geopolitical project of the coming decades. This relationship will be instrumental for peace in the Mediterranean, peace and prosperity in Europe and Africa”.
The sixth EU/African Union summit, to be held under the French Presidency in February, will aim to “rebuild the relationship” (see EUROPE 12843/8). This summit will focus on creating “a European New Deal” to accompany the economic growth of the African continent, following the summit organised in Paris in May 2021, where the allocation of Special Drawing Rights to African countries was proposed, and which has since been adopted by the G20 summit (see EUROPE 12824/13).
Mr Macron stressed the huge financing needs - €300 billion between 2020 and 2025 - of a continent facing the impact of the Covid-19 crisis and a demographic explosion. Other topics on the agenda will be: - education, health and climate; - safety; - chosen mobility. The French President called for “a security partnership between Africa and Europe”.
Another important neighbourhood is the Western Balkans, which will be the subject of a conference in June. According to Mr Macron, it is necessary to “pursue a policy of re-engagement and investment” in the region. And the man who has often argued for a deepening of the EU before its enlargement wants to clarify the European perspective of the region.
New European growth model
Mr Macron also wants to push for a “new European growth model”. The French Presidency of the Council of the EU intends to hold a summit on 10 and 11 March to define what Europe will be like in 2030. According to Mr Macron, this model should allow for an economic response adapted to the end of the crisis, “with the priority of a Europe of innovation, production and job creation”.
To achieve this, the President says that it will be necessary to review the fiscal rules, with new investments. For him, Europe will not succeed in its climate, digital or health transition with a fiscal framework that was created in the early 1990s. The president also wants to relaunch joint work on the financial framework and complete the Europe of banking and capital markets.
Emmanuel Macron wants as well to bring trade policy and climate policy “into line”. This is why he hopes to “finalise” the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) during the EUFP. He also stated the French willingness to “push” the idea of mirror clauses in trade agreements. These involve aligning the environmental standards of imported products with those of the EU.
The French Presidency intends as well to make Europe a digital powerhouse, notably by creating a truly integrated digital market, simplifying regulations and attracting funding. On this point, Mr Macron highlighted in particular the regulations on digital markets and digital services, DMA and DSA.
He also wants better paid and more skilled jobs. In his view, the French Presidency of the EU Council will be able to finalise the discussions on the minimum wages Directive. He intends as well to finalise discussions on the Directive on better gender balance on boards and to make progress on the due diligence.
European Humanism
Finally, Mr Macron hopes to make the Presidency a “moment of European humanism”. May is expected to mark the conclusion of the Conference on the Future of Europe.
Recalling that the EU is based on values, he said as well that he wants to reflect on new tools “not only of sanction, but also of encouragement”. He announced that he would set up a fund to support independent and investigative journalism and work on European legislation to combat violence against women.
The president also intends to focus on education, including the launch of a major project on the history of Europe, the organisation of a meeting of European universities in June and the creation of a European academy.
See the Presidency calendar (in French) https://bit.ly/3dxCpD8
Link to the website of the French Presidency: https://bit.ly/3dDLLNM (Camille-Cerise Gessant with Aminata Niang and Léa Marchal)