“Relaunch, power and belonging”. Emmanuel Macron unveiled, Thursday, December 9, the priorities of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union (PFUE), which will begin on January 1, 2022 for a period of six months. During this semester, Paris will be responsible for bringing together the Twenty-Seven on several key issues: economic recovery, the “Green Pact” or even the regulation of Gafam (Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft).
>> The article to read to know everything about the French presidency of the European Union, which begins on January 1
TSixteen years after the last French presidency, this new governance will take place at the same time as the presidential election in April and the legislative elections in June in France. Here’s what to take away from the program.
A new two euro coin
A new two-euro coin will be put into circulation from January 1, 2022, with an engraved oak and olive tree, said Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune. The symbol of the oak and the olive tree, representing “strength and wisdom”, was drawn by the engraver general of the Monnaie de Paris, in a “continuity with the parts we have, but also an ecological modernization”, according to Clément Beaune.
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The reform of the Schengen area
“Sovereign Europe is a Europe capable of controlling its borders”, declared Emmanuel Macron, recalling in particular the crisis on the border between Belarus and Poland. “To prevent the right of asylum, invented on the European continent, from being abused, we must find a political organization capable of defending its values. “
According to Emmanuel Macron, this reform will go through two axes: “Political organization and steering through regular meetings of the ministers in charge of these issues” and one “emergency border mechanism in the event of a crisis”.
“When a Member State suddenly has to face a crisis which requires strengthening control at the external borders of our union, it must be able to count on the support of Frontex.”
Emmanuel Macronat a press conference, December 9, 2021
This assistance between the Member States will notably involve reinforcing the number of police, gendarmes and equipment. The president intends to work with “the countries of origin [des migrants] and transit countries “ for “fight against trafficking, harmonize asylum rules and support refugees or migrants”.
Strengthening European defense
“This presidency will be a defining moment for what we have called the strategic compass”, said Emmanuel Macron. This White Paper on European Defense and Security must set out the state of threats in Europe and “orientations and ambitions” to answer.
“This strategic compass was launched under the German presidency and it will lead to the French presidency at the European Council in March”, said Emmanuel Macron. It will result in the development of a new European strategic sovereignty, which will make it possible to define partnerships and joint exercises and a common organization. “on the new areas of conflict that are maritime space, space and cyber.”
A summit between the European Union and Africa
“Since my mandate, I have made the relationship with Africa a priority”, recalled the president. A summit between the African Union and the European Union will be organized in February in Brussels. It will bring together the leaders of the countries and institutions of these two entities.
“The objective of this summit is to fundamentally overhaul the relationship [entre les deux continents] It must be based on several axes that we have prepared in recent months. Recast an economic and financial New Deal with Africa “, in particular specified the president.
Relaunching growth after the Covid-19 pandemic
“We must define together what will be 2030”, said Emmanuel Macron. Two years after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, “we will organize on March 11 in France an exceptional summit of 27 heads of government around this major subject which is, basically, to define the new European growth model”, specified the president.
This growth will go through several pillars: job creation in order to avoid mass unemployment,a construction of strong industrial sectors (hydrogen, batteries, space, semiconductors …), defense, health, culture and the cultural and creative industries.
By March, a series of European investment plans and new industrial alliances will be presented to meet these objectives.
a carbon adjustment mechanism at the borders
Second pillar of this new growth model: “Reconciling economic development and climate ambition”, announced Emmanuel Macron. The president notably recalled the “Green deal” project presented by the European Commission in July 2021, which aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 and reduce the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030.
To achieve these objectives, the European executive wishes to set up a carbon adjustment mechanism at the borders. This tool should enable the European Union to define a greenhouse gas emission threshold above which an economic activity is considered to be too polluting. If a good imported into the EU exceeds this threshold, then it will be subject to an additional cost.
An instrument in the fight against deforestation
Emmanuel Macron said he wanted to do “advance negotiations on the establishment of a European instrument to combat imported deforestation” during the French presidency of the European Union.
This instrument “will aim to ban the import into the European Union of soybeans, beef, palm oil, wood, cocoa, coffee, when they contribute to deforestation” in their countries of production, he hammered.
Regulation of digital giants
Regarding the digital aspect, “there are two pioneering texts which will be discussed with the Parliament and on which we will focus the French presidency”, announced Emmanuel Macron. The first is the “Digital Markets Act” (DMA). It deals with the markets and aims to suppress the anti-competitive practices of the large groups in Silicon Valley, in particular Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft (the Gafam).
The “Digital Services Act” (DSA) intends to fight against fraud and illegal content online. It will require platforms to implement means to moderate the harmful content they host.
“Whether it is about anti-Semitism, racism, speech, hatred, online harassment, there is currently no international regulation on these subjects. This text will be foundational”, announced Emmanuel Macron.
Harmonization of minimum wages
The French president also intends to put in place the directive on minimum wages which defines not a common European minimum wage, but a decent minimum wage in all member states.
In the European Union, monthly minimum wages vary from 332 euros gross in Bulgaria to 2,202 euros gross in Luxembourg, according to Eurostat data. Brussels would like to push for an increase in the lowest minimum wages to harmonize living standards in the EU.
A six-month “European civic service” for those under 25
“Let’s go further and think about a six-month European civic service open to all young people under 25 for a university or apprenticeship exchange, an internship or an associative action”, wished the Head of State.