Macron opts for outdated European recipes

“If Macron truly wishes to be of service to Europe, he should focus on the absolute essence of what citizens want: jobs, security and curbing migration.” MEP Parliament Sander Loones mainly heard outdated recipes in the speech by French president Emmanuel Macron to the European Parliament. In Strasbourg, Macron argued for a new European sovereignty. “More Europe appears to be his only proposal, while the alternative has in the meantime become clear: the EU must be at the service of the citizens and the Member States,” says Sander Loones.

European sovereignty

In his speech, president Macron summed up the European challenges: Brexit, migration, digital cooperation, energy and the environment. While Sander Loones recognises the same challenges, he does not see the benefit in Macron’s call for European sovereignty. “The EU is not a country; it is an accumulation of countries. Stating that the EU is sovereign actually equals saying that the EU can collect its own taxes and that it can push the Member States aside. That is certainly not my vision,” MEP Sander Loones explains.