For six months, France will be at the center of the European game. This only happens every 13 years. A mandate therefore assured by Emmanuel Macron at least until the month of April, and that the Head of State wishes to leave his mark. “2022 must be the year of a European turning point. Our continent has been criticized so much in recent years. It has been said to be divided, incapable of collective projects, in the process of breaking out of history,” he said. affirmed during his greetings to the French on New Year’s Eve. “Even as we are celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the introduction of the euro, our common currency which will have given us monetary stability, an unprecedented international position,” he insisted.
Regarding the pandemic, according to the Head of State, “the crisis has shown that united, our Europe could be not only useful, but bearer of hope for all”. A presidency which falls in full electoral term for France, while the presidential election is held next April. And for Patrick Martin-Genier, specialist in Europe, this is not necessarily embarrassing: “I believe that the French will know how to distinguish between domestic policy, European policy.”
In his view, there is a definite advantage: even assuming that Emmanuel Macron wishes to politically use this presidency of the European Union for electoral purposes, in any case “Europe will be at the heart of this electoral campaign” ensures does he in Europe Midi. “And it is important today that we talk about Europe because it is the concrete life of the citizens.” Regarding the Head of State, for Patrick Martin-Genier “it would have been very regrettable for him to do without this presidency” so much “his DNA is Europe, it is integration and European construction”.
Presidency of the Council of Ministers
We must be precise on the contours of this presidency according to the specialist. “Emmanuel Macron is not as such president of Europe, since there is a permanent council of heads of state and government,” he explains, recalling that the latter is headed by the Belgian Charles Michel. “Foreign Affairs is headed by a high representative, the Spaniard Josep Borrell and Ursula von der Leyen is president of the European Commission.”
In the midst of these institutions, France will chair the Council of Ministers, “which are specialized sessions, that is to say the councils of the ministers of the Environment, Social Affairs and the Economy”. These technical sessions “contribute to the vote on European laws”, which are directives and regulations. During its mandate, France “could possibly play its role of conciliator and initiator of a certain number of European texts” as “when there will be directives on the environment, the Green Pact of the European Commission or on asylum and immigration policy “lists the specialist.
Reform Schengen
Emmanuel Macron also pleads for a Europe capable of protecting its borders, and therefore a reform of the Schengen area. A proposal that he mentioned during his press conference on December 9, where he outlined his priorities during his mandate. “He really wants to reform Schengen: he even spoke of a political body, of a political steering of the Schengen zone”, says Patrick Martin-Genier. “For him, the strengthening of the protection of the external borders to fight against illegal immigration is something important.”
A recurring conflict between the 27 Member States, “we have seen that it was something essential, in particular for Poland which was the subject of a hybrid war on the part of Belarus”. Emmanuel Macron also “went to see Viktor Orban on this point”: “We can see that migration policy is an essential subject in the coming months, because it is about the credibility of Europe.” How to strengthen the protection of the external borders of the European Union against illegal immigration? “It is an important subject, at the European level, but also at the level of national policy”, concludes the specialist.