This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/17/emmanuel-macron-europe-civil-war-illiberalism-nationalism

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Macron: political divisions in Europe are like a civil war Macron: political divisions in Europe are like a civil war
(about 2 hours later)
Emmanuel Macron has likened the political divisions in Europe to a civil war and warned against growing illiberalism on the continent.Emmanuel Macron has likened the political divisions in Europe to a civil war and warned against growing illiberalism on the continent.
In his first speech to the European parliament, the French president called for the defence of a European liberal democracy that offered protection of the rights of its minorities, and attacked those who took their countries out of the EU to pursue fairytale “adventures”, in a passing mention of Brexit. In his first speech to the European parliament, the French president called for the defence of a European liberal democracy that offered protection of the rights of its minorities, and attacked those who took their countries out of the EU to pursue fairytale “adventures”.
Without naming the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, who recently won a landslide victory after a campaign that played on voters’ fears of migration, Macron was scathing of politicians who turned against the weak. “I am for the most integrated and closest possible relationship after Brexit, and there’s a well-known solution – it’s called EU membership,” he said.
Macron told MEPs: “There seems to be a certain European civil war: national selfishness and negativity seems to take precedence over what brings us together. There is a fascination with the illiberal and that is growing all the time. The vast majority of the speech was, however, about the future without the UK, and the need for the 27 other EU member states to be united in opposition to the emergence of the nationalist authoritarian traits of the past.
“In the future we must struggle to defend our ideals ... This is a democracy that respects individual minority fundamental rights, which used to be called liberal democracy, and I use that term by choice. The deadly tendency which might lead our continent to the abyss, nationalism, giving up of freedom: I reject the idea that European democracy is condemned to impotence.” Without naming the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, who recently won a landslide victory after a campaign that played on voters’ fears of immigration, Macron was scathing of politicians who scapegoated migrants.
Macron added that the way forward was not the “cul de sac of the nationalisms that tore us apart in the past”. “There seems to be a certain European civil war: national selfishness and negativity seems to take precedence over what brings us together. There is a fascination with the illiberal, and that is growing all the time,” he told MEPs.
The speech was heartily welcomed by Jean-Claude Juncker, the European commission president, but received a lukewarm response from Manfred Weber, the German MEP who leads the European People’s party, within which Orbán’s MEPs sit. “In the future, we must struggle to defend our ideals ... This is a democracy that respects individual minority fundamental rights, which used to be called liberal democracy, and I use that term by choice. The deadly tendency which might lead our continent to the abyss, nationalism, giving up of freedom: I reject the idea that European democracy is condemned to impotence.
Weber told Macron that people should not be divided into good and bad Europeans depending on their political standpoints. “I don’t want to belong to a generation of sleepwalkers, I don’t want to belong to a generation that’s forgotten its own past,” he said.
Voters across the continent should be respected, he said. “Some people call this is old Europe. I call this the democratic Europe,” Weber said, gesturing to the ranks of MEPs representing parties ranging from the Communist party to the far-right. Echoing Tony Blair’s 2005 appearance at the European parliament, during which he tackled Nigel Farage head-on to rapturous applause, Macron picked out the Front National for comment.
Nevertheless, Macron’s 40-minute address was generally well received, and touched on a range of challenges. In a thinly veiled reference to Russia, Macron said the EU was battling against “authoritarian powers ... with a clear strategy to call into question the multilateral system”. “You were elected to this assembly by the French people, sir,” the president said. “Perhaps you shouldn’t have come.”
“We are seeing authoritarianism all around us and the response is not authoritarian democracy but the authority of democracy,” he said. Macron also passionately defended the military strikes by the US, the UK and France last weekend against the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons infrastructure. “Do we sit back, do we defend [human] rights by saying: rights are for us, principles are for us, and realities are for others? No, no!” he said.
The French president also said that the true European political identity differed from that of “some of our closest allies, our American ally”. He said: “We share so much with that country but that country is rejecting multilateralism, free trade and climate change. The speech was heartily welcomed by Jean-Claude Juncker, the European commission president, but received a lukewarm response from others, including Manfred Weber, the German MEP who leads the European People’s party, within which Orbán’s MEPs sit.
Following the debate, Macron is hosting a lunch for the parliament’s group leaders, including Nigel Farage, who is co-leader of the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy. Farage promised ahead of the meeting that he would “ruin his lunch”. Weber told Macron that Europe welcomed his election, but people should not be divided into good and bad Europeans.
In his speech Macron repeated his calls for reform of the eurozone, a re-engagement with voters ahead of the European parliamentary elections next year, and moves to protect the continent’s sovereignty in areas ranging from copyright to data, following the Facebook scandal. “Some people call this the old Europe. I call this the democratic Europe,” Weber said, gesturing to the ranks of MEPs representing parties ranging from Communists to the far right.
He said: “People say people don’t want Europe ... They propose yellow brick roads and want to take their people off on an adventure. Macron’s address was nevertheless generally well received. In a thinly veiled reference to Russia, Macron said the EU was battling against “authoritarian powers ... with a clear strategy to call into question the multilateral system”.
“Others affirm that we shouldn’t rush things too fast: that would be paying the game of the populist. This is the familiar mood music of paralysis. We have to be aware of time and time we have. I think all of this is terribly wrong. People haven’t given up on Europe ... It is treachery of the clerics that have done this.” “We are seeing authoritarianism all around us and the response is not authoritarian democracy, but the authority of democracy,” he added.
The French president also claimed the true European political identity differed from that of “our American ally”, which was “rejecting multilateralism, free trade and climate change”.
He repeated his calls for reform of the eurozone, a digital tax, re-engagement with voters ahead of the European parliamentary elections next year, and moves to protect the continent’s sovereignty in areas ranging from copyright to data.
“People say people don’t want Europe ... They propose yellow brick roads and want to take their people off on an adventure,” he said.
“Others affirm that we shouldn’t rush things too fast: that would be playing the game of the populist. This is the familiar mood music of paralysis … I think all of this is terribly wrong.”
He also counselled against allowing the accession of Balkan states to the EU until the bloc had reformed.
Macron later hosted a lunch for the parliament’s group leaders, including Farage, who is co-head of Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy. The former Ukip leader had promised ahead of the meeting that he would “ruin his lunch”.
Emmanuel MacronEmmanuel Macron
EuropeEurope
European UnionEuropean Union
Viktor Orbán
The far rightThe far right
BrexitBrexit
France
newsnews
Share on FacebookShare on Facebook
Share on TwitterShare on Twitter
Share via EmailShare via Email
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn
Share on PinterestShare on Pinterest
Share on Google+Share on Google+
Share on WhatsAppShare on WhatsApp
Share on MessengerShare on Messenger
Reuse this contentReuse this content