The French semester of EU presidency will be based on three “promises”: democracy, progress and peace. Emmanuel Macron thus broke the ice in front of the plenary of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, in his speech introducing the six months of leadership of the EU Council in Paris. The French president has insisted above all on the defense of “liberal democracy” and the rule of law, claiming those “values which, by dint of being taken for granted, have become fragile”.
Macron called for a revision of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, 20 years after its promulgation, including more explicit references “to the protection of the environment or the recognition of the right to abortion”. Among other battles that the EU will have to wage under her leadership are the European minimum wage and the increase in female representation, to bridge the gender gap that still penalizes women on a community scale.
Climate change and digital, the two challenges of the century
On the second side, that of progress, Macron highlighted the two “challenges of the century” that await the EU. The first is that of climate change, where Europe has already been able to adopt a pioneering agenda with respect to international competition. “It is the continent that, through the goal of climate neutrality by 2050, has set the most ambitious goals on the planet – he said – Now we must move from intentions to actions”. The second challenge is that of the “digital revolution”, with the urgency of simultaneously building a “digital single market” and a set of rules that protect citizens’ rights, freedoms and privacy.
May Europe be “future power”, protection of external borders
Macron then reiterated the importance of the EU’s strategic autonomy on the international stage. “It is a question of finding together a Europe that is a power of the future,” Macron said, underlining the urgency of an EU that is “independent” from international powers. An emancipation that also passes from a «strong strategy for the defense industry» and the continuation of the progress «started with the approval of the strategy compass, in complementarity with NATO».
As for Russia, «the dialogue must be frank. Sovereignty is a freedom, it is the heart of our European project. We will continue with Germany, within the framework of the Normandy format, to seek a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis. We will ensure that the EU makes its voice heard on the issue of strategic weapons and respect for European sovereignty ”. Among the cornerstones of the six-monthly presidency there will also be the reform of the Schengen system, with a strengthening of the external borders that hinder “irregular migration” towards EU borders.