Macron urges EU to reform as Britain departs
FRANCE’S PRESIDENT Emmanuel Macron has urged the European Union to embrace reform to protect its citizens in a world troubled by wars and authoritarian regimes.
The 40-year-old leader, who wants to play a key leadership role in the EU, outlined his vision in a speech at the Strasbourgbased European Parliament.
Mr Macron said democracy is the “best chance” for the EU to fight against rising nationalism on the continent.
“Faced with authoritarianism, the answer is not democratic authoritarianism but the authority of democracy,” he said.
Mr Macron called for an energetic campaign for the European Parliament election in May 2019 as the EU also deals with the challenges of Britain’s departure.
He told EU politicians that it is important “to have a democratic, critical debate on what Europe is about”.
Mr Macron said citizens “want a new project” for the EU which addresses their concerns and fears in a world in which allies such as the US are turning their backs on multilateral trade and climate change pacts.
All EU countries, except Britain and Hungary, have agreed to seek opinions of their citizens on the EU’s future through debates and online consultations by summer.
Speaking after Mr Macron, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the EU is not just a club led by France and Germany.
Mr Juncker said Mr Macron’s arrival in power in France has “given new hope” to the world’s biggest trading bloc.
But he recalled that “Europe is an ensemble”, even with Britain set to leave the EU next year.
Mr Macron will meet with Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin tomorrow, as France and Germany aim to agree on proposals for EU reforms by June.
During Mr Macron’s speech, some European politicians raised placards reading Stop The War In Syria and Hands Off Syria to protest against joint airstrikes by US, Britain and France on chemical weapons facilities in Syria on Saturday.
Mr Macron condemned what he called “a fascination with the illiberal” in Europe.
“I want to belong to a generation that will defend European sovereignty because we fought to obtain it,” he said. “And I will not give in to any kind of fixation on authoritarianism.”
In 2017, Mr Macron’s main challenger was National Front leader Marine Le Pen, a nationalist and fierce critic of the EU.
The French president proposed a new European fund to help communities that take in migrants and said France would be willing to pay more into the EU budget to fill the gap left by the departure of the UK.
In a debate with MEPs after his speech, Mr Macron said he wanted to keep the UK close to the EU but there was to be “no cherrypicking in the single market”.
He said there must be “full respect” for the freedoms of the EU single market: Free movement of goods, services, capital and people.”