With direct language, the bluntness of which he repeatedly apologizes for, the French president returns to the Sorbonne, where in September 2017 he outlined his idea of Europe. An idea which, by his own admission, needs an urgent overhaul: “I can’t come here today and say that everything went well.” Macron spoke for 1 hour and 47 minutes in front of civil and military authorities, journalists and associates of his party, the underdog in the June Euro-elections. He recalibrates the priorities, the new pillars for a “more sovereign and more powerful” EU. He security, geopolitics, flow management, economy and culture. Not without jabs at nationalism: “They are strong everywhere, so the answer to fears is audacity.”
An immediate appeal to the other 26 member states: “We must synchronize.” Otherwise, the diagnosis is, “Europe can die, a new defense paradigm is needed, but there is no defense without a defense industry.” And perhaps we need to think about a “European shield” against Russian missiles. Partly Cassandra, partly Iron Man who in the film wanted a shield against the bad guys, Macron is asking for common (read: French) standards. “Fragmentation is a weakness, how can we act together with guns and missiles that don’t match?” It’s a new manifesto, his. Pro-European ideas so as not to be crushed by the US-China bipolarism and face the threats from Moscow, and also useful to restore impetus to Paris in an EU that could see its liberals in fourth place and not so influential after the vote. “We need a Europe that commands respect and knows how to defend itself”, a security framework that will allow us to build neighborly relations with Russia. The sine qua non, the French president insists, is that Moscow does not win against Kiev. Therefore he launches the idea of a European military academy to train up to 5 thousand soldiers, ready in case of need, and in the meantime claims leadership of the only EU country with nuclear weapons: “It is essential to build security guarantees” , he sentences.
Evoke dissuasion, Macron. However, made up of signals to be sent abroad showing Made in Europe weapons and ammunition: «We are in a state of strategic minority from which we must get out, of course we are an essential pillar of NATO but we must produce faster and more in Europe, otherwise how shall we build our autonomy?”. He therefore asks for a “European preference” in military purchases among the 27, given that three-quarters of the aid sent to Kiev is non-EU. And looking into the eyes, Berlin renews its hope of making a common debt for the cause, hypothesizing a role for the European Investment Bank.
The tenant of the Elysée then rides the wave of discontent, broadening the concept of “European sovereignty” to every sector, from energy to agri-food up to digital, space and cybersecurity. He calls for lessons to be learned from Covid and the ongoing crises, including the farmers’ protests. «Let’s put an end to the Europe of complications», reduce bureaucracy; give substance to the industry and the “risk of investing”. He calls for a 1,000 billion EU plan. And he encourages the 27 to set limits against unfair competition outside the EU, because “there is a geopolitics of food that we cannot ignore”; otherwise stop agreements like Mercosur, which Scholz’s Germany still defends. Macron calls it a continental “prosperity pact”, inviting us to regain control of the borders with a new political structure.
«Schengen becomes an Internal Security Council».
