“From the moment when the French presidency of the European Union intervened at the very moment of the presidential deadline, it was useless to imagine that the French and partisan issues did not come to the surface”, lamented the French MEP Geoffroy Didier, member of the Republicans and spokesperson for Valérie Pécresse, Wednesday January 19 on franceinfo, while Emmanuel Macron gave a speech in front of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
franceinfo: The climate today in Strasbourg has an aftertaste of the French presidential campaign: what do you think? Was it normal?
Geoffrey Didier: It was inevitable insofar as Emmanuel Macron had chosen to maintain the French presidency of the European Union, when he could have asked for it to be postponed. From the moment when this presidency intervened at the very moment of the presidential deadline, it was useless to imagine that we could speak only of Europe and that the French and partisan issues did not rise to the surface. It’s a shame, I think Europe deserves better.
In an indirect way, Emmanuel Macron addresses the elected Republicans who criticized the European flag at the Arc de Triomphe at the start of the year by declaring that it is “proud of the european flag”.
But I too am proud of the European flag! The only thing we blame the outgoing president for is putting only the European flag, where Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008, during a previous French presidency of the European Union, put the French flag and the European flag. Basically, I believe that we are above all patriots, and that unlike Éric Zemmour or Marine Le Pen, we are also Europeans, but one does not go without the other. It is useless to believe that many French people will be able to adhere to the idea of an amorphous and sovereign Europe which would dilute national sovereignties.
Do you agree with this priority for the French presidency of the European Union: reforming the Schengen area to reaffirm security at Europe’s borders?
Sure ! But the problem is that these are only words and Emmanuel Macron was already saying that when he arrived at the Elysée. Nothing has been done and Europe has become a sieve. Basically, the area of free movement only makes sense if the external borders of the EU are protected and sealed. A border, it is crossed and it is respected. It is not a question of not welcoming anyone, it is quite simply a question of regaining control, of no longer suffering, of keeping control of one’s destiny and of organizing oneself in such a way that Europe is respected like all other continents are respected at their borders.
Valérie Pécresse’s project is to create hot spots, that is to say areas outside Europe where asylum seekers could have their applications processed because we know that once they have entered European territory, even if they are not granted political refugee status, they remain in Europe. Today, nine out of ten rejected asylum seekers remain in the European Union and respect neither our values, nor our rules, nor our laws, and that is not acceptable. If we want to save Europe, we must protect it with concrete actions.
Emmanuel Macron also spoke of including the right to abortion in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights: what do you think?
I am deeply attached to Simone Veil’s law. But within the European Union, there are members like Malta who do not agree with these ideas. I am not for the great principles and the great charters, I am for the actions therefore to protect in France the Veil law which is a considerable progress for all the women. If it is to become a European value, I am in favor of it becoming in practice rather than in the charters a shared value within the European Union.