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French President Emmanuel Macron used a speech on Europe Day to present a broad, avant-garde but detailed proposal to redraw the political map of the continent with a new organization that will give Ukraine closer relations with the EU without membership – and may even includes the United Kingdom
Speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Monday, Macron proposed a new “European political community” that would include both EU and non-EU members.
The event served both as a celebration of Europe Day – marking the anniversary of the Schuman Declaration that paved the way for today’s EU – and as a closing ceremony for the Conference on the Future of Europe, an annual EU self-assessment process that included a series of meetings. the town hall with citizens.
Macron, who was inaugurated for a second term on Saturday, did not provide details on the proposal. And the Elysee Palace did not provide any newsletters or other political references, as in previous cases when Macron set out bold recipes for Europe. Instead, the newly elected president seemed to improvise, apparently even catching some of his own advisers by surprise.
The French leader seems to have been animated by a desire to find a solution to war-torn Ukraine, which has desperately called for swift EU membership in the months following Russia’s brutal invasion.
Macron said that the “legitimate aspiration” of the people of Ukraine, such as those of Moldova and Georgia, to join the European Union, invites us to rethink our geography and the organization of our continent.
“Ukraine, through its battle and its courage, is now a member of the heart of our Europe, of our family, of our union,” he said.
But even when Macron expressed a burst of emotion about Ukraine, which hopes to receive formal EU candidate status at the June European summit, the French leader seems to have shattered Kyiv’s greatest hopes.
“Even if we grant them the status of a candidate for membership of our European Union tomorrow, we all know very well that the process of allowing them to join will take several years – in fact, probably several decades. And the truth is to say this, unless we decide to lower the standards of this membership and therefore completely rethink the unity of our Europe.
However, by proposing new levels of political affiliation with the EU, Macron questions some of the Union’s most valuable, costly and unshakable pillars, including a balance of rights and responsibilities that includes fidelity to EU law and payments to the general budget.
And the organization Macron described sounded a lot like the EU – but it would still be open to countries like the United Kingdom that left the bloc.
“This new European organization will allow democratic European nations that adhere to our set of values to find a new space for political cooperation, security, cooperation in energy, transport, investment, infrastructure and the movement of people, especially our youth.” said Macron. . “Joining it would not necessarily prejudge future membership of the European Union, just as it will not be closed to those who have left.
Only the United Kingdom – which has gone through a recent and bitter secession from the EU – and Greenland fit the description of “those who have left”. And it is Britain’s demands to enjoy membership privileges by circumventing its obligations – which Brussels ridicules as “picking cherries” – have led to such a brutal divorce.
Macron did not explain how some of the privileges of membership will be balanced with obligations. He also did not have any details on how key EU members would provide security for newer branches that could be vulnerable to attack, not to mention Ukraine, which is already at war.
Macron was not the first to come up with a plan to strengthen the EU’s ties with partner countries, including Ukraine, before granting formal membership. Last month, Enrico Letta, a former Italian prime minister and leader of the Democratic Party of Italy, proposed a “European confederation” of candidate countries, starting with a shared “economic zone”, gradually adding commitments and eventually including a common clause for defense.
The traditional European Council summits will be followed immediately by confederation summits, Leta said in a note describing his plan.
Mission in Berlin
Macron later pushed through his new plan to visit Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, his first trip abroad since his re-election.
He tried to talk about the benefits of his proposal, saying it would “take several years, decades” for Ukraine to join the EU through the regular enlargement procedure. “Is that what we want?” We take the risk of despair, of giving up. Given this geographical proximity, they hold to the same core values, I would like to emphasize this once again, as Ukraine is fighting for just that today and taking all the risks for that … we need to build a new political form, and not just a legal form. ”
Scholz seems to welcome Macron’s idea politely but uncompromisingly. He described it as “a very interesting proposal to tackle the great challenge we face”. He said it was “absolutely necessary to find ways” to bring more countries closer to the EU. “That is why I am very pleased with the proposal that we will discuss here now,” he said.
However, Scholz offered a coded warning that Macron’s plan should not be used to divert countries that have been working for EU membership for many years – with little enthusiasm from France.
“Clearly, this should and will not dissuade us from the accession processes we have been working on for so long,” Scholz said, adding that the “courage” taken by the countries of the Western Balkans must be rewarded by opening up or progressing enlargement talks with them.
Some countries aspiring to join are likely to see Macron’s proposal as a blatant delay tactic disguised as a hug.
Reactions among Macron’s colleagues, EU heads of state and government, are likely to be just as alarming – if not downright confusing.
This applies not only to the French president’s new “community”, but also to his declaration of support for the revision of the EU’s own treaties.
Many national leaders have shown little appetite for changing the treaties – a long and difficult bureaucratic process that can also create all sorts of unforeseen political dangers, including referendums.
But Macron clung to the European Parliament’s plan to launch a convention amending the treaties, driven by recommendations from the Conference on the Future of Europe.
“I’m telling you, I’m in favor of this institutional reform,” he said. “And I would like to discuss it with the necessary courage and freedom at the June European Council.”
Jacopo Barigatsi contributed to the report.
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