Emmanuel Macron on Friday promised his “total commitment” as France takes the rotating presidency of the European Union on Saturday, saying that 2022 should be “a European turning point”.
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“From midnight, France will take the presidency of the European Union and you can count on my total commitment to make this moment (…) a time of progress for you”, he said during his televised greetings to the French.
“For the control of our borders, our defense, the climate transition, equality between women and men, the construction of a new alliance with the African continent, the better supervision of the major Internet platforms and culture in Europe ”, he detailed while several emblematic French monuments such as the Eiffel Tower were adorned with European colors in the evening.
Emmanuel Macron affirmed that “2022 must be the year of a European turning point” and that the European Union had proved its value in its management of the pandemic.
At midnight, France takes over from Slovenia, which has chaired the Council of the EU since July 1, and will cede its turn in the second half to the Czech Republic, for a presidency that will necessarily be marked by the prospect of l French presidential election in April, in which Emmanuel Macron has still not announced his very likely candidacy.
Very well placed to win according to the polls, Emmanuel Macron welcomed the drop in unemployment or the high vaccination rate of the French against COVID-19. However, he warned of “difficult weeks” to come under the Omicron variant wave, promising to “do everything to preserve the activity of the country” and “avoid taking restrictions that weigh on our freedom”.