Reelection bolsters France’s Macron as powerful player in EU

Apr 26, 2022, 11:38 PM | Updated: 11:52 pm
FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron celebrates with his supporters in Paris, France, Sunday, Ap...

FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron celebrates with his supporters in Paris, France, Sunday, April 24, 2022. French President Emmanuel Macron's reelection has bolstered his standing as a senior player in Europe. Macron is now expected to push for strengthening the 27-nation bloc and throw all his weight behind efforts to end the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

(AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

PARIS (AP) — Soon after his victory was announced, French President Emmanuel Macron took the stage to the sound of the European Union’s anthem, the “Ode to Joy.” The symbolism was strong: The 44-year-old centrist’s election to a second term bolsters his standing as a senior player in Europe.

Macron is now expected to push for strengthening the 27-nation bloc and throw all his weight behind efforts to put an end to the war in Ukraine.

In his victory speech Sunday evening, he thanked the majority of French voters who chose him and vowed to lead a project for “a stronger Europe.”

“Europe is a framework for peace and stability. It’s our safer asset for today and tomorrow,” he said at a campaign rally in Strasbourg, home to the European Parliament. “Europe is what’s protecting us from crisis and war.”

Angela Merkel’s departure in December after 16 years as Germany’s chancellor, in addition to the United Kingdom’s exit from the bloc in 2020, positioned Macron to play a dominant role in the EU, where the Franco-German relationship is key.

Boosted by his victory, Macron figures to be in the spotlight when he pays an expected visit to Berlin in the coming days to meet with new Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who has had a low-profile debut on the international stage. French presidents traditionally make their first post-election trip abroad to Germany as a celebration of the countries’ friendship after multiple wars.

Ukraine will be at the top of the agenda for the encounter with Scholz, whose spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, praised Macron’s victory over far-right, nationalist rival Marine Le Pen as “a good day for Europe.” Hebestreit added: “The French people made a good choice.”

France holds the rotating presidency of the European Council until June 30. Macron is scheduled to make a speech on Europe on May 9 in Strasbourg.

At some point, he may also travel to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Macron has long advocated for the EU to take more responsibility for its own defense, something he sees as complementary to the NATO alliance, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has only further strengthened that argument.

His victory “means the pursuit of an ambitious project for Europe,” said Tara Varma, who heads the Paris office of the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank.

“He will be advocating to double down on the European sovereignty agenda: on tech, on defense, on fighting economic coercion,” she said.

Varma added that an upcoming conference on the Western Balkans to be organized in June will provide “an opportunity to start rethinking the EU’s enlargement policy.”

Georgina Wright, director of the Europe Program at the Paris-based think tank Institut Montaigne, said that “Europe will obviously continue to be a key and central pillar to Macron’s mandate. I suspect he wants to go further and faster than he has in the past five years.”

However, he may encounter “tricky discussions” ahead, she said.

The introduction of a bloc-wide minimum wage, a carbon tax on imports and fiscal reform are among the main policies France wants to promote. France also wants to accelerate talks on a stalled overhaul of the EU’s asylum system.

To achieve such progress on touchy topics, Macron will need to seek international consensus among his counterparts.

“His challenge would be to get others to follow him,” Wright said. “He really needs to get Germany on board.”

But challenges loom. The leaders of Hungary and Poland, at loggerheads with Brussels over their rule of law standards, have expressed strong disagreement with Macron in the past. Tensions with Britain over the post-Brexit deal and migrants crossing the English Channel, meanwhile, are unlikely to calm down.

“Macron won’t have everything his own way,” said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform. “Some Central and Eastern European member states will oppose French policies, the British will remain a headache and the Germans may thwart some French ideas.”

Areas of Franco-German divergence include key topics such as energy strategy. Macron is pushing to promote nuclear power as a way of becoming greener and more energy-independent, while Scholz’s government plans to shut down Germany’s last nuclear plants this year.

Germany is also expected to oppose a French proposal involving the use of shared EU debt for an investment plan aimed at coping with the impact of the war in Ukraine. The proposal is modeled on the unprecedented plan launched to get the bloc through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Macron may find a key ally in Italian Premier Mario Draghi, who has been pushing for tighter ties with Paris, including a pact signed with Macron in Rome last fall that was meant to establish Italy and France as the new motor of EU cooperation.

In congratulatory remarks following Macron’s reelection, Draghi emphasized the role of both countries, “working side by side with all of the other partners” to construct a stronger EU.

___

Colleen Barry in Milan, and Geir Moulson in Berlin, contributed to this report.

___

Follow the AP’s coverage of the French election at https://apnews.com/hub/french-election-2022

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


              FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron celebrates with supporters in Paris, France, Sunday, April 24, 2022. French President Emmanuel Macron's reelection has bolstered his standing as a senior player in Europe. Macron is now expected to push for strengthening the 27-nation bloc and throw all his weight behind efforts to end the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)
            
              French President Emmanuel Macron talks to journalists as he arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, June 24, 2021. French President Emmanuel Macron's reelection has bolstered his standing as a senior player in Europe. Macron is now expected to push for strengthening the 27-nation bloc and throw all his weight behind efforts to end the war in Ukraine. (John Thys, Pool Photo via AP, File)
            
              FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron celebrates with supporters in front of the Eiffel Tower Paris, France, Sunday, April 24, 2022. French President Emmanuel Macron's reelection has bolstered his standing as a senior player in Europe. Macron is now expected to push for strengthening the 27-nation bloc and throw all his weight behind efforts to end the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Rafael Yaghobzadeh)
            
              FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron blows a kiss to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after a joint press conference after the EU summit at the Chateau de Versailles, Friday, March 11, 2022 in Versailles, west of Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron's reelection has bolstered his standing as a senior player in Europe. Macron is now expected to push for strengthening the 27-nation bloc and throw all his weight behind efforts to end the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)
            
              FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron, center, speaks with European Council President Charles Michel, center left, as they walk to a group photo at an EU summit at the Chateau de Versailles, in Versailles, west of Paris, Thursday, March 10, 2022. French President Emmanuel Macron's reelection has bolstered his standing as a senior player in Europe. Macron is now expected to push for strengthening the 27-nation bloc and throw all his weight behind efforts to end the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)
            
              FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron speaks after reports of his reelection Sunday, April 24, 2022 in Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron's reelection has bolstered his standing as a senior player in Europe. Macron is now expected to push for strengthening the 27-nation bloc and throw all his weight behind efforts to end the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)
            
              FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron celebrates with his supporters in Paris, France, Sunday, April 24, 2022. French President Emmanuel Macron's reelection has bolstered his standing as a senior player in Europe. Macron is now expected to push for strengthening the 27-nation bloc and throw all his weight behind efforts to end the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

AP

(Facebook Photo/Superior Court of Arizona in Yavapai County)...
Associated Press

Arizona judge has cases reassigned following DUI arrest

The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that all cases currently assigned to a Yavapai County Superior Court judge recently arrested on suspicion of extreme DUI will be reassigned to other judges.
3 days ago
Haitian migrant Gerson Solay, 28, carries his daughter, Bianca, as he and his family cross into Can...
Associated Press

US, Canada to end loophole that allows asylum-seekers to move between countries

President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced a plan to close a loophole to an immigration agreement.
6 days ago
Expert skateboarder Di'Orr Greenwood, an artist born and raised in the Navajo Nation in Arizona and...
Associated Press

Indigenous skateboard art featured on new stamps unveiled at Phoenix skate park

The Postal Service unveiled the “Art of the Skateboard" stamps at a Phoenix skate park, featuring designs from Indigenous artists.
6 days ago
(Facebook Photo/City of San Luis, Arizona)...
Associated Press

San Luis authorities receive complaints about 911 calls going across border

Authorities in San Luis say they are receiving more complaints about 911 calls mistakenly going across the border.
12 days ago
(Pexels Photo)...
Associated Press

Daylight saving time begins in most of US this weekend

No time change is observed in Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas.
20 days ago
Mexican army soldiers prepare a search mission for four U.S. citizens kidnapped by gunmen in Matamo...
Associated Press

How the 4 abducted Americans in Mexico were located

The anonymous tip that led Mexican authorities to a remote shack where four abducted Americans were held described armed men and blindfolds.
20 days ago

Sponsored Articles

(Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona Photo)...
Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona

5 common causes for chronic neck pain

Neck pain can debilitate one’s daily routine, yet 80% of people experience it in their lives and 20%-50% deal with it annually.
...
Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing

Company looking for oldest air conditioner and wants to reward homeowner with new one

Does your air conditioner make weird noises or a burning smell when it starts? If so, you may be due for an AC unit replacement.
...
Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing

Prep the plumbing in your home just in time for the holidays

With the holidays approaching, it's important to know when your home is in need of heating and plumbing updates before more guests start to come around.
Reelection bolsters France’s Macron as powerful player in EU