Emmanuel Macron will present, on Wednesday January 19, the objectives of the French presidency of the European Union before the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The President of the French Republic will have twenty minutes to present his vision of Europe, before submitting to two and a half hours of questions and answers with MEPs.
>> The article to read to know everything about the French presidency of the European Union, which began on January 1
Emmanuel Macron had already unveiled his vision of a sovereign and progressive Europe at the beginning of December, with this slogan “Revival, power, belonging”. How are French positions perceived in other European countries, particularly in Italy and Hungary.
Italy and France allied against the frugal countries
Rome seems to totally share the French vision, particularly on the stability pact. This is a battle of Mario Draghi who once headed the European Central Bank. This is a priority for Italy and the President of the Council is on the front line with Emmanuel Macron on the recovery of the economy as well and the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. France and Italy are therefore on the same wavelength: Emmanuel Macron and Mario Draghi want flexible rules to promote the financing of ecological and digital transition projects. For it, “it is inevitable that the stability pact will be changed”, Mario Draghi was already saying at the beginning of December when he signed the Quirinal Treaty with France, the first bilateral treaty between the two countries, whereas until then there was only one treaty, the Franco-German one. Then at the end of December, the two men Mario Draghi and Emmanuel Macron also launched a platform in the FinancialTimes to reform fiscal rules.
But aren’t France and Italy a bit alone, despite the French presidency for six months. It is certain that the frugal are back in the game. We can clearly see that Austria and the Netherlands are trying to convince the smaller countries of northern Europe and Germany. For the moment, the latter seems uncertain even if the German finance minister will be difficult to convince by the French and the Italians. Bruno Lemaire, however, puts pressure, in La Repubblica and other major European newspapers at the beginning of the week he estimated “obsolete” the public debt rule. He also praised the merits of Mario Draghi who played a decisive role in the revival of the Italian economy. It is true that Mario Draghi is particularly respected in Europe.
What also binds the two countries during this European semester are presidential elections. Here again, there is an analogy between France and Italy. Italians, moreover, believe that Emmanuel Macron will use the EU presidency as a springboard for his presidential candidacy. The European semester will therefore be short, but in Italy too there is a presidential election in 2022, and even as early as next week. The election is different on the Italian peninsula, there are 1,000 electors and the Italian president does not govern but he is the recourse, the sage, in the event of a political crisis and in Italy this is often the case. Mario Draghi is in the race but some European counterparts would prefer to see him stay in his post even if it means aiming for the European Commission in two years.
In Hungary, a presidency seen with a dim view
The Hungarian prime minister is a sovereignist and a eurosceptic. For Viktor Orban, this French presidency is not really good news when he is Macron’s main opponent on the European scene. On the one hand, we have a French president, who poses as a champion of a progressive Europe, which would evolve towards a federal Europe. On the other, the strong man of Budapest, who wants less power for Europe and more for national parliaments. According to Istvan Hegedüs, president of the Hungarian Society for Europe, Viktor Orban does not see favorably the reforms advocated by the tenant of the Elysée: “If Emmanuel Macron launches reforms in the coming months, this may be a problem for Orban who opposes changes. He does not want member states to be able to decide by qualified majority.”
“Viktor Orban wants Hungary to keep a right of veto. He hates the idea of a sovereign Europe! He fights for a sovereign Hungary.”
Istvan Hegedüs, President of the Hungarian Society for Europeat franceinfo
This right of veto, Viktor Orban does not hesitate. He vetoed several European initiatives, including statements that condemned China’s policy in Hong Kong. On many issues, decisions are taken unanimously by the Member States. But moving to qualified majority voting would require a new treaty that would have to be signed unanimously.
This reform would therefore take a long time. Six months will not be enough but the French presidency could trigger it. Pro-European Hungarians are quite confident. They think the climate is right for that, not only because France chairs the European Union, but also because Germany has a new progressive government. “I hope that the French presidency, the new German government, and the other governments, will have the courage to move Europe forward, says Istvan Hegedüs. Orban and his counterpart are in the minority! The others should assume that they have the majority. They shouldn’t be afraid of Orban.” It should be noted that there will be parliamentary elections in Hungary on 3 April. The opposition could take up this theme against Viktor Orban who is seeking a fourth term.