At the European Parliament, the French president called for a new security plan to help reduce tensions with Russia.
According to Pak Sahafat news agency International Group and quoted by Euronews, French President Emmanuel Macron called on the European Parliament on Wednesday to draft a new security plan to help reduce tensions with Russia.
The French president, who has held the rotating presidency of the European Union since the beginning of this month, stressed that the European Union should be able to design a new security order “between Europeans” in the coming weeks. According to him, the plan can then be proposed to NATO and, if necessary, Russia.
Emmanuel Macron was speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg as Europeans claimed that the possibility of a Russian military strike on Ukraine had increased. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was finalizing its security proposals.
In part, the French president called the defense of the “rule of law” a priority for the European Union. He suggested that “environmental protection” and “the right to abortion” be enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
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Emmanuel Macron cited “climate change”, “digital transformation” and “security” as challenges facing the EU. He also promised that his country would seek to “reform the Schengen area” within the next six months to prevent “illegal immigration”.
The French president stressed that the European Union must be able to protect “its external borders” with a “rapid intergovernmental intervention force”.
France’s presidency of the European Union begins with Emmanuel Macron becoming known as the leader of the pro-EU front against the “nationalists” and “populists”, such as the leaders of Poland and Hungary, since coming to power in 2017. However, the French president said in his speech on Wednesday: “Returning to nationalism and dissolving our identities is not the answer to this new world.”
One of the challenges ahead for Emmanuel Macron is holding presidential elections during France’s presidency of the European Union. This will, in practice, prevent him from fully focusing as one of the potential candidates in the upcoming elections on the central issues of the French presidency of the European Union.