Newly re-elected, French President Emmanuel Macron made his first trip to Strasbourg on May 9 for the closing ceremony of the Conference on the Future of Europe. He spoke about his policy priorities for the EU and Ukraine.
Review of EU treaties
Macron is favorable to a revision of current EU treaties, declaring to the European Parliament: “We will have to reform our texts, that is obvious. One way is to convene a treaty revision convention, which is a proposal from the European Parliament that I approve of.” He called for the leaders of the 27 member nations to discuss the matter further at their summit in June.
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, had also spoken out for a modification of EU treaties “if necessary” and the abandonment of the unanimous vote of the 27 member countries in key areas.
“Europe should play a bigger role, for example in health or defense,” stated von der Leyen. “We must continuously improve the functioning of our democracy [and] I will always be on the side of those who want to reform the EU to make it work better.”
Welcoming Ukraine and other countries
Macron called for the creation of a “European political community” to welcome Ukraine in particular, in parallel with an EU accession procedure that could take “decades.” He elaborated: “This new European organization would allow democratic European nations adhering to our core values to find a new space for political cooperation, security and cooperation,” underlining that Ukraine, invaded by Russia, was already “a member of our union in its heart.”
Welcoming Ukraine and sparing Russia seems to be Macron’s line. During a press conference, he made clear that to end the war being waged in Ukraine by the Russian army, peace will have to be built without “humiliating” Russia and with “Ukraine and Russia around the table.”
Harsh words against Russia
Nevertheless, as Russia celebrated the victory over Nazi Germany in 1945 on May 9, with a military parade in many cities of the country, Macron condemned, once again, the Kremlin’s offensive in Ukraine. “Russia is committing unspeakable crimes in Ukraine,” the French president declared, whilst also emphasizing that he was “not at war” with Moscow.
With “freedom and hope” being the “face” of the EU, he renewed his support for Ukraine and insisted on the EU’s role in preserving “peace in Europe” and “avoiding escalation” at all costs. He also expressed his commitment to help rebuild Ukraine and reminded his audience that “the European project was born out of war… and out of our very desire not to repeat it.”
Professor Olivier Védrine is a journalist, former TV presenter on various Ukrainian national channels, Editor-in-chief of Russian Monitor (Russian opposition online newspaper), Member of the Board of Directors of the Jean Monnet Association and author of several books.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s and not necessarily the views of the Kyiv Post.
