Something major happened this Monday in Strasbourg, the seat of the European Parliament. As President of the European Union Council and as a newly re elected French President, Emmanuel Macron delivered a major speech, the kind of speech that everybody will remember.
It was about the notion of a Multi-speed Europe, with the introduction of a novel idea, a framework called “European political community”. Emmanuel Macron calls it the “Strasbourg oath”
That speech came as a conclusion of the Conference on the Future of Europe on Monday, in Strasbourg,
In that speech, Macron talked about:
- reforming European treaties
- And the qualified majority voting.
The previous speech of similar importance was at the Sorbonne, on September 26, 2017. This is when Emmanuel Macron provided his vision for “rebuilding” Europe. It was a crucial moment in European history because the Union was coming out of a series of successive crises – the financial crisis, migration and Brexit.
Five years later, the COVID crisis and the war in Ukraine are now part of the picture. As a result this “Strasbourg Oath” has a veery different flavor. While the Sorbonne speech was a collection of proposals encompassing a very wide spectrum, this Strasbourg Oath on the other hand goes much deeper and commits to a series of ambitious institutional reforms for Europe, from the need to reform treaties to the way votes are conducted in every decision process.
In other words, it’s about paving the way for a “sovereign, united Europe, democratic and ambitious.”
A series of reforms all the way to the idea of a “European political community”.
Emmanuel Macron sees this parallel track as a way for Ukraine to join the European Union security framework without having to wait for the multi-year EU adhesion process to conclude.
Needless to say that this Strasbourg Oath will lead to a whole range of reactions within the European Union, from each and every single member state.
This is a conversation to be continued and I’ll get back to you on that very topic,
That’s what I wanted to share with you.
Let me know if you have questions and I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Feel free to comment.