French leader in call for European military force

FRANCE’S President Emmanuel Macron said yesterday the European Union should embrace a joint budget, shared military force and harmonised taxes to stay globally relevant.

With Brexit looming, Mr Macron warned the rest of Europe against the dangers of anti-immigrant nationalism and fragmentation, saying that goes against the principles of a shared Europe born from the tragedy of world wars.

“We thought the past would not come back ... we thought we had learned the lessons,” Mr Macron told a crowd of European students at the Sorbonne university yesterday as he sought to make France’s mark on Europe’s future. After a far-right party entered the German parliament for the first time in 60 years, Mr Macron said this isolationist attitude has resurfaced “because of blindness ... because we forgot to defend Europe”.

“The Europe that we know is too slow, too weak, too ineffective,” he said.

To change that, he proposed a joint budget for European countries sharing the euro currency that would allow investment in European projects and help stabilise the eurozone in case of economic crisis.

This budget would at some point need to come from national budgets of countries sharing the euro currency, for instance using domestic taxes on businesses.

Re-elected German chancellor Angela Merkel has already signalled openness to some of Mr Macron’s ideas.

Mr Macron’s office says he also wants his Europe strategy to play a role in Germany’s coalition-building talks.

The euro has fallen steadily since news that Mrs Merkel won the German national election with a weakened hand.

To reduce inequalities across the EU, Mr Macron also suggested greater harmonisation of EU tax policies, notably on corporate taxes, and taxing internet giants where they make money and not where they are registered. Mr Macron is also proposing that every EU country guarantee a minimum wage and payroll charges.

Mr Macron said: “I believe deeply in this innovation economy,” but insisted “we must have this debate” about making taxation more fair.

Mr Macron also proposed a shared European military intervention force and defence budget.

He suggested the creation of a European intelligence academy to better fight against terrorism, and a joint civil protection force.

He wants to open the French military to European soldiers and proposed other EU member states do the same on a voluntary basis.