French President, Emmanuel Macron, has proposed reforms of the European Union (EU) and warned against nationalist parties ahead of the European Parliament elections in May.
In a newspaper column published in each of the 28 member states on Tuesday, Macron wrote: “In a few weeks, the European elections will be decisive for the future of our continent.
“Europe has never been as necessary since World War II as it is now and yet never has Europe been in such danger’’.
“Nationalism offers nothing. It is a project of rejection,’’ he warned.
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He noted that Brexit was the “symbol of Europe’s crisis in not being able to provide for the people’s need for protection in the face of today’s threats’’.
“We are at a decisive moment for our continent, at a time when, collectively, we must reinvent… the forms of our civilisation in a changing world,’’ he said, calling for a common front to resist division.
“To that end, I propose building this renaissance together around three ambitions: freedom, protection and progress.’’
His proposals included the creation of a European agency, which will provide experts to protect the voting process of each member state from cyber attacks and manipulations.
He also suggested a ban on funding European political parties by foreign powers, a review of the Schengen system and creating a common border force and European asylum office.
In the article, Macron talked about setting EU zero-carbon target by 2050, the establishment of a minimum European wage and a ban in Europe of companies “undermining the strategic interests of Europe’’.
Furthermore, the French head of state called on European institutions and states to take part in a “Conference for Europe’’ by year-end to propose all necessary changes to the bloc’s political project. (NAN)