“I believe that the European Union must have a dialogue with Russia,” said Macron on Friday on the sidelines of a visit to the I-Commission of Ursula von der Leyen in Paris. Having a dialogue does not mean making concessions.
First of all, it means taking stock of the differences of opinion and trying to shape the future.
Macron was also open to talking to Russia about new agreements to limit the dangers of medium-range missiles and nuclear weapons. He also referred to the termination of the INF Treaty on the renunciation of land-based nuclear weapons-capable medium-range systems by the USA. Because of this “unilateral decision”, Europe is no longer covered by the treaty.
“We cannot stay in this situation. It is our responsibility,” said Macron.
I-Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also announced that she will be during the six-month French I– Council Presidency will work with Macron on the idea of a European security architecture and put a proposal on the table. Macron said it was up to the Europeans themselves to propose the security architecture they want.
Macron’s advance is particularly relevant against the background of Russian demands for new security agreements with NATO and the USA and the parallel deployment of Russian troops near Ukraine. According to Western intelligence services, the latter is related to Moscow’s demands and is intended to fuel fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine in order to persuade NATO to make concessions.
In the conversations to resolve the conflicts, the I as an institution so far largely sidelined. These are primarily in the so-called Normandy format with Germany and France, via NATO or bilaterally between the US and Russia.
Von der Leyen was on Thursday and Friday together with other members of the European Commission on the occasion of the start of the French I– Council Presidency traveled to Paris. Macron had met her for a working lunch on Thursday evening. On Friday they attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the graves of Jean Monnet and Simone Veil in the Panthéon. Monnet and Veil are considered the founding figures of the European Union.
Task of rotating I-The Presidency is, when controversial I-Topics to convey compromises. The presidency can also set political priorities.
Source: Nachrichten
