France kicks off its EU presidency with ambition and electoral shadow

France took over the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union from Slovenia on Saturday with the aim of achieving a more sovereign Europe and the desire to bet on an economic model that does not exclude the preservation of the planet, but the country will have to keep an eye on its elections.

The ambitious desires expressed by the French President, Emmanuel Macron, clash for the moment with the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic, which is casting a shadow over the 2022 horizon, but also with the French presidential elections to be held in April.

The months are expected to be busy for Macron, who has not yet confirmed his candidacy for the presidency, although it is taken for granted that he will do so, with a clear chance of qualifying for the second round and winning, according to the first polls of voting intentions.

It is likely that Macron, a convinced pro-European, as he demonstrated this Friday in his New Year's resolution speech by defending Europe as a tool for solidarity and growth, will take advantage of this EU presidency to extol his figure as a statesman, while in the opposition all the candidates confirmed for the election campaign against Macronism.

And this Macronism is today in France the main face of those who unequivocally defend multilateralism and the European alliance, as opposed to the identitarian discourses, which are taking up a good part of the electoral pre-campaign.

At midnight, the Elysée, the Eiffel Tower and other French monuments were illuminated with the European flag, which will be reflected in buildings all over the country throughout this week.

The last time France was at the helm of the EU Council was in 2008 under Nicolas Sarkozy.

But then, before the signing of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009, the president's role was also to lead the European Council and Foreign Affairs, missions for which today there are two specific positions held by Belgian Charles Michel and Spanish Josep Borell, respectively.

Macron's role now will be to lead the discussions of the EU Council, which brings together the representatives of the 27 member states with ministerial rank and has legislative functions, with the aim of reaching compromises and bringing positions closer together.

Sovereignty and environment

But the position also offers the opportunity to organize informal meetings between the countries by prioritizing certain issues, for which France has planned up to 400 appointments.

Thus, Macron will try to accelerate issues such as autonomy in the supply of strategic products, encourage a new growth model that reconciles environmental protection with the economy, facilitate cooperation within European borders and strengthen its external sovereignty.

The French President also wants to reform the Schengen area to protect the EU's external borders and also to review the budgetary framework of the Maastricht agreements.

In his opinion, Europe will not be able to meet the climate, health, cultural or digital challenges it faces by relying on rules created in the 1990s, and he wants a "strategic discussion" on the subject.

"We must define together the Europe of 2030. Building strong and integrated industrial subsidiaries, hydrogen, batteries, space, semiconductors, cloud, defense, health, culture and cultural and creative industries will structure that world," Macron said in December at the presentation of the main axes of his leadership.

On France's watch, Europe will tackle key legislative projects such as the regulation of technology giants, as well as a dozen projects to meet the European target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

Paris also hopes to make progress in these six months on the mechanism that would make it possible to tax within European borders the producers of certain materials or products imported into the EU without complying with social or environmental standards.

In France, the opposition fears that Macron will use this presidency to take credit for certain merits, such as the approval of the Gafam regulation, which is already well advanced.

Meanwhile, in Brussels, some voices such as the Greens have regretted that France did not ask to delay its presidency because of the elections as it could have done and fear that immobility will reign from March, when the Frenchman will focus on his campaign.