Paris no longer sees EU enlargement as an obstacle, but as a catalyst for its “European sovereignty” agenda. It’s an uncertain bet, but there are two good arguments for why an EU that moves further east may pave the way for a “Europe puissance.”
The EU’s history is closely intertwined with the fate of its automobile industry. As China’s electric vehicles take the continent by storm, Paris has put forward a balanced proposition for how to save European producers. But to really make it work, Berlin and others have to follow.
Six years after his famous Sorbonne speech, what should be Emmanuel Macron’s next big EU initiative? A case can be made for Macron continuing to push forward his “European sovereignty” paradigm. But would that entail that he is now getting serious on EU institutional reform?
The French president’s current troubles can be traced back to 2005, when the French rejected a Constitution for Europe only for Paris to then ratify the Lisbon Treaty two years later. A return to parliamentarism is the only solution.
This weekend France and Germany celebrate a treaty that was born in discord and remains the manifestation of their continued disagreements. Yet celebrating the Franco-German myth remains an imperative of realpolitik.
Germany is in the middle of a vibrant debate about its future foreign policy and to what extent to help Urkaine. In France, Macron decides alone. Strangely, two different political cultures produce the same policy results.
Why are Paris and Berlin currently so at odds with each other? The simple answer is: Scholz’ EU strategy is a copycat of Macron’s. But Europe can’t take two Macrons.
For Olaf Scholz, the war in Ukraine underlines the urge to advance with EU enlargement and institutional reform. Emmanuel Macron is hesitant about both—and for once finds himself on the defensive of the European agenda.
President Emmanuel Macron’s loss of a majority in France’s parliament means that little will get done in terms of domestic policy in the coming years. This could be excellent news for France.
The French still enjoy a comparably solid social safety net. Looking closely at Emmanuel Macron's victory, it was this welfare state that helped him get reelected. And it makes the upcoming pension reform all the more challenging.
The price of French President Emmanuel Macron’s likely historic electoral success will be the uncertainty about what follows when he leaves the scene in five years.
The French president’s speech last week drew much undeserved criticism. In the Ukraine crisis, Paris may be Washington's most demanding partner, but it is also proving to be its most reliable one.
