France’s Emmanuel Macron takes EU reins as national election looms
- Macron has announced an ambitious agenda for the 27-member bloc that could also serve his domestic campaign for re-election
- But his agenda to make Europe ‘powerful’ risks being overshadowed in the short term by the accelerating Covid-19 health crisis
France takes over the rotating presidency of the European Union on Saturday, affording President Emmanuel Macron the chance to pose as the EU’s de facto leader in the run-up to national elections in April.
The 44-year-old has never made any secret of his ambitions to be the motor for further European integration, serving over the last four years as a dynamic sidekick to the more steady German chancellor Angela Merkel in Europe’s power couple.
With Merkel now retired and the timely gift of the rotating presidency of the EU Council from January 1, Macron has announced an ambitious agenda for the 27-member bloc that could also serve his domestic campaign for re-election.
“The year 2022 must be a turning point for Europe,” he said in a New Year’s Eve national address that hailed the EU’s role during the Covid-19 crisis.
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Referring to the French presidency, he vowed that “you can count on my complete commitment to ensure that this period, which comes around every 13 years, is a time of progress for you”.