Emmanuel Macron’s speech on European sovereignty, during the first state visit by a French president to the Netherlands in 23 years, was closely followed in the expectation that he would clarify the controversial statements he made about Taiwan on his return from a official trip to China. . But it turned out to be French internal problems that overshadowed the event in The Hague, as Macron was interrupted by protesters against pension reform and climate inaction. “President of Violence and Hypocrisy,” read the banner they unveiled before being pulled away by security.
“Where is French democracy?” cried one of the demonstrators. “Why did you bypass the Assembly,” said another, referring to the use of the “constitutional nuclear bomb” to prevent deputies from voting on the pension reform, as there is no majority for it. In the auditorium of the Nexus Institute, the authors of the protest also recalled that “there are millions of demonstrators in the streets” and also accused Macron of not respecting the climate treaty. Already at the start of the official visit, the president was confronted with a protest poster in front of the National Palace, where he and first lady Brigitte were received by kings Guilherme Alexandre and Máxima.
The president responded to the demonstrators in the room by saying that a “civic debate” was important, recalling that France is a democracy and that it is therefore “a place where we can demonstrate” and explained that he would answer questions about what’s going on. But he also remembered: “The day you say ‘if I don’t agree with the law that has been passed or with the people that have been elected, I can do what I want, because I determine the legitimacy of what I do’, you bring democracy in danger.” As for the change to the pension system, which, among other things, raises the retirement age from 62 to 64, he reiterated that it is “essential”.
European sovereignty
Regarding European sovereignty, the subject of the speech, Macron defended that this “means that we should be able to choose our partners and determine our own destiny, instead of just witnessing the dramatic evolution of the world.” According to the president, this can be done “in a cooperative manner, while maintaining our spirit of openness and partnership” with others.
Macron, speaking in English, recalled that the covid-19 pandemic and the war led Europeans to discover that “we have to reduce our dependencies if we want to preserve European identity”. the French president defended a “new economic doctrine that allows us to reconcile creating jobs, financing our social model, dealing with climate change and being more sovereign and self-determining”. Macron explained that this new doctrine should be based on five pillars: competitiveness, industrial policy, protectionism (on key issues such as cyber security, infrastructure or “wherever there are vulnerabilities and where European security is at risk”), reciprocity and cooperation.
Controversy with Taiwan
Macron’s speech in the Netherlands comes after the controversy surrounding the interview he gave to various media outlets on his return from Beijing. The French president has come under fire for his comments on Taiwan: “The question we as Europeans need to answer is this: is it in our interest to expedite the Taiwan issue? No,” he said.
The interview took place on Friday, before China began military exercises around the island, which it regards as a rebel province – and which it does not rule out being forcibly controlled. But it was published on Sunday, when these were already happening.
“The worst would be to think that we Europeans should become followers of this topic and follow the lead of the American agenda and a Chinese overreaction.” Macron added, claiming that Europe risks “getting caught up” in crises that are not his own.
The statements were criticized in various quarters. the conservative Wall Street Journal believed that Macron “weakens the deterrent to Chinese aggression and undermines US support for Europe”. also the The New York Times considered that the French leader’s trip “undermined” Washington’s efforts to curb Chinese influence. The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance for China, which has warned of Beijing’s expansive ambitions, said it was “baffled” by the remarks and said it is “the worst time to send a signal of indifference to Taiwan”.
Despite this, the White House had “confidence” in relations between Paris and Washington and in the joint work developed at various levels. For his part, a spokesperson for the European Commission, Eric Mamer, said the message delivered during Macron and Ursula von der Leyen’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping was “very consistent”. Mamer repeated that further “The European Union continues to strongly oppose any attempt to change the status quo by force through the Taiwan Strait.”
Source: DN
