The so-called Franco-German axis was once invincible. The EU. goes in the direction it was heading. After all, they are the two largest economies in Europe. But what happens when they are led by two of the leaders most “damaged” by the European elections? Then, the attempt by the two countries to impose their own point of view provokes strong reactions and ends up being thrown out.
This is exactly what happened when Emmanuel Macron It is Olaf Solz – who were recently defeated at the polls – tried Summit meeting changing with a proposal in paragraph five the strategic agenda, that is, the political priorities of EU leaders: green transition, defense, competition policy, enlargement – everything had to be rewritten, to suit their own measures. What they don’t understand is that their speech is no longer considered an “order”.
As diplomatic sources told Bloomberg, most member states saw the two leaders as an attempt to “hijack” the Synod. And their reaction was one of anger. Almost all of the amendments proposed by France and Germany were rejected. “It’s rare to see a proposal from the two largest economies provoke such a strong reaction,” said one EU diplomat.
The conflict arose during a debate on the EU’s so-called strategic agenda, which sets out principles for how the EU will respond to its biggest challenges, such as migration, climate and the war in Russia. Macron and Soltz have called for wording changes on sensitive issues.
According to reports, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, were among those who reacted strongly, raising the issue of principles and institutional procedure, recalling that the text was discussed at length in the Permanent Representatives Committee. Both he and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called for the text to remain as it is.
Worrying sign
But it was less the substance of the changes that angered other leaders than the way they were requested at the last minute, many diplomats said, since the document had already been in a phase of intense negotiation for days. “There was no desire to dismantle the entire text,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksken said afterward. A Berlin official said Macron and Scholz were simply trying to “bring clarity to a difficult process.”
“The erratic behavior of the bloc’s two biggest powers is a worrying sign for EU leaders as they try to deal with a growing list of challenges, from Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, to trade tensions with the US and China and weak economic development. Scholz hinted after the summit that he had discussed the situation in France with Macron, without giving details”, comments Bloomberg.