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| Emmanuel Macron Rebuilding Confidence and Unity in Europe |
French President Emmanuel Macron called for a series of “democratic
conventions” across Europe as he vowed that his generation would rebuild
citizens’ trust in the European Union.
“Are you afraid of a European ambition that will enable us to win back
our sovereignty, our democracy, our confidence?” he asked. “Have this
crazy ambition. I promise you we will succeed.”
Speaking at the Pnyx, a hill that was the center of Athenian democracy
almost 2,500 years ago, Macron began speaking a few words of Greek to
pay tribute to the founders of the city state. Switching to French, and
with a stunning view of the Acropolis behind him, he promised to unveil a
“road map” by the end of the year for introducing greater democracy
into the EU and the euro zone.
Rjecting the calls of populist parties to retreat behind national
borders, Macron said “true sovereignty” over the economy and borders can
only be achieved at the EU level. “Real sovereignty can only be built
through Europe, by combining our forces, not by each one of us turning
in on ourselves,” the French leader said. “Our challenges are no longer
at the national level. Nations have their place, but the real scale is
Europe.”
Macron, 39, has shown a sense of symbolism since his May election:
choosing the European rather than the French anthem the night of his
victory, hosting Russia’s Vladimir Putin at Versailles, and treating
U.S. President Donald Trump to a bone-crunching handshake at NATO. He
chose Greece as his first state visit because it’s the birthplace of
democracy and because its 2010 bailout laid bare the dysfunctions in the
euro area that Macron has vowed to fix. Greek Prime Minister Alexis
Tsipras, 43, spoke before Macron, who littered his speech with citations
from the Athenian statesman Pericles.
In his election campaign, Macron frequently linked French and
European issues, saying France needed to reform its economy to win the
confidence of Germany and other northern countries to win them over to
accepting greater European integration.
“Our generation can found Europe again by starting with a
deep critical study of what went wrong,” Macron said. “We can’t leave it
to those who hate Europe.”
Macron, who defeated anti-EU candidate Marine Le Pen in May, said the
conventions across the EU he’s calling for would “decide what Europe we
want.”
The EU had lost the trust of its citizens, he said, by focusing
on “absurd” rules because it had lost the confidence to pursue grander
ambitions.
After meeting Tsipras earlier Thursday, Macron said he
expects Greece to be able to exit its bailout program when it expires
next August and that he supports easing Greece’s debt load. Macron took
40 French company leaders with him to Athens, saying their interest in
investing in Greece is a sign of confidence in the country’s recovery.
In
his speech, Macron reiterated his call for a common budget for the euro
zone with an “executive that is answerable to an elected euro
parliament.” He also called for political parties to present Europe-wide
lists in the 2019 EU Parliament elections.
Note EU-Digest: Kudos to President Emmanuel Macron for taking this
initiative. We have all had enough of the naysayers who want to go
back to the so-called "good old Days" with borders, different
currencies, trade walls, and strife, The European dream can only become
a reality by purpose, unity and independence from foreign interference
and political entanglement .
Read more: Macron Calls for Democratic Conventions to Rebuild EU - Bloomberg
