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Post: Macron returns to Brussels on Monday, what’s in his suitcase for the Europe Summit?

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Emmanuel Macron will attend the EU summit in Brussels on Monday, following his first re-election as French president, after presenting a series of surprising proposals on EU reform and consolidating Ukraine’s presence in Europe. Strong opposition from the East.

“All these European leaders know what elections are and look at their colleagues differently depending on what they have defeated or won,” said Pierre Vimont, a French diplomat and European affairs expert who is currently a member of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. . Brussels.

The French president was re-elected with 58% of the vote on April 24 after an election campaign against far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, who was closely watched by the European Union because of European stakes.

“The authority of Emmanuel Macron is strengthened in this election,” added the former head of the EU’s foreign affairs service, although he still did not perform well in the legislative elections on 12 and 19 June.

The French president, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency until the end of June, also expressed strong support in Strasbourg on May 9, reiterating his support for reforming European treaties to make the EU more effective and proposing an organization” to annex the Ukraine faster than Europe after Russian attack on February 24.

Even if this topic is not officially on the agenda, says Pierre Vimont, the partners will undoubtedly ask him many questions. The summit will focus on providing Ukraine with financial assistance and reducing its dependence on fossil fuels.

“incredible”

The most hostile positions on the matter were soon published. On May 22, Polish President Andrzej Duda invited Ukraine from Ukraine to join the European Union. His Lithuanian counterpart, Gitana Nosida, also expressed concern about Ukraine’s “lack of political will” to quickly join the EU.

“There is mistrust. We see these proposals as a way to delay Ukraine’s accession process,” said Lukas Maslanka, a researcher at the Polish Institute of International Affairs.

Macron stressed that the “European political organization” is not a substitute for Ukraine’s accession to the EU, but a compromise, as he knows that this process will take “decades”.

However, doubts remain. “There are a lot of misunderstandings that need to be resolved,” Pheimon said. Eliseu sources say that “the ball is now in our court”.

The French president’s calls not to demote Russia also had a very negative resonance in Ukraine and Central and Eastern Europe.

This suggests that Emmanuel Macron may have made a “communicative” mistake when he was in a hurry to speak or did not adequately explain his project, as Lucas Maslanka put it.

“German problem”

The Polish expert adds: “He firmly believes in the creative power of his word, but we know very well that everything in Europe is subject to concessions and not necessarily to the word of the French president, from whom the final decision will be taken. “

But he believes that France has “a solid foundation to become a leading country in Europe”, especially at a time when Germany is pursuing a policy considered too timid in the case of Ukraine.

But President Macron needs a Franco-German duo to back his ideas. Chancellor Olaf Scholz found his idea of ​​a European political organization “interesting”.

“Currently there is no German leadership. There is a German problem,” said Jean-Dominique Julian, president of the Robert Schuman Foundation in Paris.

In this context, Macron is increasingly emerging on the EU front. Jean-Dominique Julian recalls that “France’s traditional role is to present ideas. We’re not sure about everything, but we’ve helped push things forward.”

“The traditional French ideas that the president offers so rudely and sometimes so boldly make Europeans think,” he said.

Source: EuroNews

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