French Presidency of the Council of the EU and presidential election

On January 1, the European flag flew alone under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, raising the ire of opponents of Emmanuel Macron, who had already entered the campaign. For Stéphane Séjourné, this is a "false controversy" which highlights a "tendency to overpoliticize the French presidency of the Council of the European Union within the framework of the presidential campaign". The elected member also assures that he "will differentiate the presidential from the PFUE" in his attributions to the European Parliament and that "the parliamentary work will continue, and the priorities will be the same".

While the French president wishes to make life difficult with "anti-vaccines" in France, his position as President of the Council of the EU imposes on him neutrality on the political subjects which agitate the Union. In this context, Stéphane Séjourné confirms that one should not "mix all the political messages" and that there is on the one hand "a subject on vaccination in France with positions taken by the President of the Republic. "and on the other hand" we have a very important issue of European coordination because we must not have the same problems that we experienced at the start of the crisis ". Over the past two years, "we have succeeded in putting tools at the service of citizens at European level to guarantee freedom of movement and guarantee our freedoms," he recalls.He is therefore confident about the management of this crisis over the next six months because "Europe always learns during crises and there are political victories for those who believe in the EU". "The stakes will be there for the President of the Republic, for the French presidency: to keep this European solidarity and to rebuild a crisis management which allows us to guarantee our freedoms and our free movement everywhere in Europe", he affirms.keep this European solidarity and rebuild a management of the crisis that will allow us to guarantee our freedoms and our free movement throughout Europe, ”he says.keep this European solidarity and rebuild a management of the crisis that will allow us to guarantee our freedoms and our free movement throughout Europe, ”he says.

Respect for the rule of law

During the German Presidency of the Council of the EU, Chancellor Merkel was criticized for letting Hungary and Poland drift away from the rule of law.

For Stéphane Séjourné, "the rule of law is the major subject that holds all the member states".

The president of the Renew Europe group recalls that "the Commission is very aligned with the European Parliament and a large part of the Member States" on the behavior to be taken vis-à-vis Hungary, but we will have to wait to act because for At the moment the situation "is frozen" by the legislative elections which are to be held in the country in 2022.

On the other hand, he wants the conditionality mechanism voted with the recovery plan to be applied in Poland, because "Poland is part of a system where the independence of the judiciary, journalistic plurality, the independence of journalists and perhaps even the capacity to organize elections are called into question "and" the independence of the judiciary is a subject consubstantial with the European DNA ".

Ukraine

Asked about the situation at the borders of Europe, in Ukraine, and the action to be taken there, Stéphane Séjourné assures us that "the whole of the European community must be able to deal with it, the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council. , and President Macron will take his part in this matter if there is a need and if the situation changes, "because" we Europeans have an interest in safeguarding the peace and stability of the borders of France. 'European Union". He pleads for the rapid establishment of the "strategic compass", which will allow "a reading of the world and of the strategic interests of the common EU within the Union", in order "to speak a common diplomatic language and have a common political message "to face the hegemony of the American-Russian dialogue,especially on the situation in Ukraine.

To give your opinion on the rules of the rule of law in the European Union, visit the platform of the Conference on the future of Europe.

Program prepared by Isabelle Romero, Georgina Robertson, Yi Song, Céline Schmitt and Perrine Desplats.

The project was co-financed by the European Union within the framework of the European Parliament grants program in the field of communication.

The European Parliament was not involved in its preparation and is in no way responsible for or bound by any information, information or views expressed in connection with the project for which only the authors, individuals interviewed, the editors or broadcasters of the program are responsible in accordance with applicable law.

Nor can the European Parliament be held liable for any damage, direct or indirect, which may result from the implementation of the project.

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