Recovery the focus for France's EU presidency
France EU presidency - Image © European Union
(PARIS) - France took over the EU presidency on 1 January, promising to pursue an agenda for European sovereignty, the building of a new European growth model and the creation of a more 'human-sized' Europe.
This is the first time in 13 years that France has held the EU presidency, which will last from 1 January to 30 June 2022. To celebrate the launch of the presidency, a number of emblematic monuments were lit up in blue across the country, as will several French embassies.
As president, France will be responsible for organising the meetings of the Council of the European Union, fostering cooperation between the Member States and handling the Council's relations with the European Commission and Parliament. The task of the presidency will be to contribute to reaching compromises and decisions that serve European citizens in several key fields such as the ecological and digital transition, protection and adaptation of our social model, better protection of borders and reaffirming the importance of European values.
The priorities of France's presidency are reflected in its motto: 'Recovery, strength and a sense of belonging':
- recovery, to enable Europe to support the ecological and digital transitions
- strength, to defend and promote our values and interests
- a sense of belonging, to build and develop a shared European vision through culture, our values and our common history
According to French president Emmanuel Macron's speech given on 9 December to present the priorities of the French presidency, the activities of the presidency will focus on three main areas:
- pursuing an agenda for European sovereignty, meaning Europe's ability to exist in the world as it currently exists and defend its values and interests
- building a new European growth model
- creating a more 'human-sized' Europe
"If I had to sum up in one sentence the goal of this presidency from 1 January to 30 June 2022, I would say that we need to move from being a Europe of cooperation inside of our borders to a powerful Europe in the world, fully sovereign, free to make its choices and master of its destiny," he said.