It was an event set to be closely scrutinized by observers in both Brussels and Paris: On Thursday, October 17, President Emmanuel Macron attended a summit of European national leaders, while Prime Minister Michel Barnier, who was also on a trip to the Belgian capital, attended a morning meeting of the leaders of the European People’s Party (EPP), of which his party, the right-wing Les Républicains (LR), is a member.
Admittedly, the former European commissioner is a long-standing regular at these meetings, which precede European Councils. But this is the first time he has taken part as prime minister, in the context of the “demanding cooperation,” in the Elysée’s words, between himself and the president. And this at a time when he is very busy on the national scene with budget debates and a highly complex political situation.
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In so doing, he sends out a clear message: “For him, European policy is a domain shared between the Elysée and Matignon [the prime minister’s office]; it does not come under foreign policy,” which is the authority of the president, explained one of his close contacts. Macron doesn’t see things the same way. “European affairs are part of the president’s reserved domain,” asserted Macron’s camp.
Barnier’s participation in EPP meetings “can only be an asset for France at a time when the EPP is the strongest political grouping in the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission,” said LR MEP François-Xavier Bellamy. Indeed, the conservatives are represented by 11 of the 27 heads of state and government sitting at the Council table – and probably more in the future, given the forthcoming elections, particularly in Germany, where the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is expected to win – as well as the same number of commissioners and the largest number of elected representatives (188 out of 720) in the Strasbourg-based Parliament.
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At the EPP summit, the head of government met with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who did not hold him in high esteem when he was negotiating the Brexit agreements with London. Barnier hopes to meet her again at greater length, if possible in early November. “The EPP had not welcomed a French right-wing prime minister since 2012,” rejoiced a person close to Manfred Weber, the party president, who on Monday and Tuesday met in Paris with Barnier, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau and the president of the conservative group of MPs in the Assemblée Nationale, Laurent Wauquiez.
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Publish date : 2024-10-17 11:06:00
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