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Paris — Emmanuel Macron wanted his country’s EU Presidency to increase the likelihood of his own reelection — and Omicron came.
Currently, uncertainties surrounding face-to-face events, positive testing by senior officials, and pandemic-dominated headlines risk endangering well-prepared programs designed to be partially created. I have The French president is shining ahead of the April presidential election.
Elysee Palace officials admitted Wednesday that the waves of Omicron that hit Europe in recent weeks have crossed the EU’s policy-making corridor as local events in small towns move online. There is a “risk” of limiting the influence of the Presidency.
“The important thing to remember is that in this difficult hygiene situation we have adopted the doctrine of health. We are cautious,” officials added.
France has been particularly badly hit by the latest coronavirus variants. On Wednesday, more than 332,000 new cases were enrolled in 24 hours. This is the highest ever.
The Omicron wave may not make a big difference to EU legislative work in Brussels (inter-agency consultations, working groups, etc.) as the EU bubble has already learned to adapt in the last two years. I have.
However, there is a risk that dozens of events across France scheduled for the next three months will be canceled or virtualized, and that has already happened. Conferences on the protection of workers sent from one EU member state to another are already online.
It will threaten EU themed (and non-cycling) Tour de FranceIt aims to show the French people in the suburbs of Paris the benefits of the EU and the important role Macron will play in the EU, as well as to earn political points with the local mayor prior to the April vote. Macron has not officially declared his candidacy, but when he does, he will be by far the most pro-EU agenda candidate.
Bad start
The French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which was launched on January 1st and continues earlier this year, has not made a fortunate start.
“Without the episode of the flag, this wave of COVID would have dominated, so the beginning of the Presidency of the EU Council in France was largely overlooked,” said Sebastian Mayor, director of the Jacques Delors Institute think tank. Let’s do it. ” Caused by the EU flag flying alone under the Arc de Triomphe on the weekends.
The raising of the EU flag (not the French flag) was intended to mark the beginning of the EU Presidency, but soon became a battle over French history and identity, with all Macron’s rivals attacking him. I saw
This week’s visit to Paris by all European Commissioners is on schedule, but the program will need to be pandemic and readjusted after Parliamentarian President Richard Ferrand tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. Is suspended in a thread. A spokesperson for the committee did not reveal whether she was infected with the coronavirus, but said she was ill and that the committee’s vice chairman, Bella Jouroba, would not go on a trip.
When Portugal took turns hosting the EU Presidency last year, the top brass of the European Commission visited Lisbon, resulting in the isolation of three members due to the risk of infection. This is a warning for Paris.
Plans B and C
Despite the initial optimism that the deployment of the vaccine will bring back something similar to normal life, French officials have created three scenarios for the EU Presidency, officials said. 2.
In barely a week, until at least January 23, optimistic face-to-face scenarios are already out the window. In France, only “very important” events and informal ministerial meetings with small delegations proceed directly to that day. , And authorities will reconvene every two weeks to determine future directions. In Brussels and Luxembourg, meetings are planned as usual (for now).
Macron’s speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on January 19 is expected to be an important moment for both the EU Presidency and his campaign, according to two French officials.
However, the fate of dozens of other events with European lawmakers and various industries on issues from the aviation to the audiovisual sector in cities such as Toulouse, Angers and Marseille is unknown.
Marie Pierre Vedren, MEP of Macron’s delegation, said: She admitted that the “daily crisis of COVID” made it difficult to convey the message, but it is politicians who show people that responding to a pandemic is effective not only at the European level but also at the national level. I emphasized that it depends.
The organization of events in towns across the country was also designed to help Macron approach the local mayor from parties that could help future alliances. For example, the mayor of Angers in eastern France, who will host an all-day conference on the audiovisual sector at the end of January, is the secretary-general of the French president’s enthusiastic and former prime minister’s new party, Horizons. Minister Edouard Philippe. Toulouse, which hosts a digital assembly every June, is also run by politicians near Philip.
According to Mylard of the Droll Institute, the French president will continue to take advantage of the next three months of his EU Presidency if he can get political consensus on the issues the EU is currently considering in time for the election. increase. Topics such as minimum wages, borderless Schengen area, and carbon border taxes all resonate with French public opinion.
But sooner, the pandemic could ruin one of France’s presidency’s taglines, “affiliation.”
“In a country that is positive about COVID and people are wondering who will take care of their children if the school is closed, it is difficult to bring the feeling of” attribution “to life,” Maillard said.
Elisa Braun, Rym Momtaz and Maïade La Baume contributed to the report.
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