“Europe was built by dreamers, but today’s dreamers are pragmatic, otherwise we risk dreaming the dreams of others” Emmanuel Macron, The Hague, April 11, 2023.

President Macron’s speech in The Hague is a call for the sovereignty of Europe and the growth of the Union’s strategic autonomy, a vision that is no longer at the stage of speeches, but is already happening before our eyes. For 40 minutes, he explained his vision, an ideology that he saw in 2017, when he first presented it in his speech at the Sorbonne as a simple speech, we see today as a reality.

In the context of the relevant 2017, it should be explained that the discussion on this topic was mainly caused by the years of the Trump presidency, when European offices were uncertain about the future of relations with the strongest ally, and on which we depend, especially from the defense side. The pandemic and the war in Ukraine have only shown the EU’s dependence on China for strategic products and technologies, as well as its energy dependence on Russia, which has fueled Russia’s military potential in Ukraine in recent years.

5 pillars: competitiveness, European industrial policy, protection of EU interests, reciprocity and cooperation with third countries. These pillars are no longer desired, but have gradually become the philosophy that fuels new European proposals and policies, from the green and digital transformation to the entire European economy and industry with extraterritorial impact.

Macron’s speech in The Hague is part of France’s tradition of debating ideas at the European level. The 40-minute speech, which, although it began with chants from some activists in the hall, continued calmly and pedagogically in laying out a vision of what European sovereignty means, turning to the philosopher of contemporary politics in The Hague, Baruch Spinoza. About the dream of a Europe that does not passively contribute to geopolitical changes, but reacts and fights for the future of its democracy and its model by increasing its strategic autonomy, or in other words, by achieving European sovereignty.

Shortly before this historic visit to the Netherlands, immediately after returning from an official visit to China, President Macron created a stir with direct statements about his position and vision of Europe vis-à-vis other world powers. The French president said Europe should not blindly follow the United States, but should think of ways to increase strategic autonomy and be a third pole of power between China and the United States. His words were quite criticized by the offices of the states of Eastern Europe, which count on the support of the USA in the war in Ukraine, but military-strategic consolidation in general depends on the United States. Instead, Macron’s view appears to be shared by other Western European countries that, even if they are less direct and public in their statements, are still alive in the memory of Donald Trump’s presidency. In fact, Western European nations also have the most developed industries, and the recent protectionist policies of the United States, announced by the Anti-Inflation Act, fueled fears of competition that would put European companies at a disadvantage. Hence the proposal of the Union to have a net-zero industrial policy, which correlates with the objectives of the European Green Pact, digital transformation, by creating a special European fund in this direction, as well as a whole financing strategy through public aid schemes, private support and European funds.

Essentially, the importance of the topic revolves around the big stake in the middle: the future of Europe depends on this strategic autonomy, that is, the right to decide for us, Europeans, our own future, economic model, without any obligation, because of our dependence we obey other people’s rules . European sovereignty means the freedom to choose partners, and not to be limited in opportunities and forced by circumstances, as was the case during the pandemic, when dependence on China came to the surface, or since the beginning of the annexation of Crimea in 2014. with dependence on Russian gas. From medicine, chips, high technologies, rare raw materials, energy, important industries where other countries, other continents, and not the EU are superior.

Here are the 5 pillars of Macron’s vision of European sovereignty:

1.Competitiveness and better, stronger internal cooperation, citing the existing fragmentation of the single European market or the lack of a proper capital market in Europe. Competitiveness with global players means harmonization and simplification of European legislation, as well as significant investment in education and training. The spirit of Macron’s idea is that the single market is the greatest asset we have and we must not lose it.

Observation: Of course, there is still a fragmented market due to legislation and the fact that not all member states are part of Schengen or the Eurozone, things that Romania can improve and argues by accelerating these processes. What is not desirable is that even higher speeds are created from this momentum, which divides Europe into advanced and beginners, and some countries remain without a tail. It is necessary to find mechanisms to involve all states in this strategy without creating disadvantages.

2. Industrial policy, or the great European taboo. If until recent years, when talking about strategic autonomy, more was mentioned about defense, industrial policy was not considered at all, now it seems that the economic states have understood that, in addition to the ideological position of non-intervention, vis-à-vis the USA or China, Europe cannot remain inert and must apply the same interventionist policy if it does not want to risk its global competitiveness. In the energy sector, Macron argues, it is not only necessary to get rid of dependence on Russian gas, but also how we do it, and this should be done with renewable and nuclear energy.

Observation: But this industrial policy cannot be done without money. There is no European industrial policy without a corresponding European budget, or currently the EU budget is 1% of the GNI of the member states. In the European Commission’s proposal, the financing scheme includes the creation of a new European sovereign wealth fund, which is actually modest in scope, and most of the financing will be obtained by forcing private actors to invest and through subsidies at the national level. by authorizing state aid schemes. Or here arises the problem of economic and industrial inequality of European countries, since not all states have the opportunity to ruthlessly provide subsidies simply because their budgets are limited. For this reason, a country like Romania should campaign for an increase in the EU budget and the allocation of ambitious funds at the EU level. How would Romania propose a European PNRR for the industry?

3. Protecting the interests of the Union when we see that they will be threatened. Monitoring of foreign investments in Europe and its companies is required. In terms of critical infrastructure, cyber security, Europe needs to have these protection and prevention mechanisms, in terms of defence, technology and so on. We must continue the same aspirations for the digital side, culture and education. On the one hand, we have freedom of expression, but on the other hand, we are exposed to Russian propaganda that endangers children, young people, European citizens in general and even European democracy. That is why the EU is proposing new legislation on the moderation of online content in Europe. This pillar refers to the risk posed not only by global state actors, but also by private actors, multinational corporations, capable of influencing democracy.

4. Reciprocity will be the basis for new trade agreements. This is important for trade relations between the EU and third countries. But reciprocity must go beyond commercial considerations, it must also be reflected in commitments to sustainable development. In other words, President Macron is saying that we cannot introduce strict rules for European producers, but at the same time agree to import products from countries that are less demanding in terms of environmental protection standards. The deals should be fair, honest so as not to affect sensitive sectors. And the agreements should benefit us and add value to the strategic interests of the EU.

5. Multilateral cooperation. We must promote the EU model throughout the world, restoring the multilateral structure. For example, the World Trade Organization can become a better framework for compliance with agreements, as well as for the protection of fundamental rights, the fight against forced and illegal labor.

Macron ends the presentation with the desire to impose this strategy to create jobs, fight climate change, increase EU sovereignty. The place of the speech was not chosen by chance, because today the Netherlands occupies a leading place among the so-called frugal states, which largely depend on the financing of the policy that will be the result of the implementation of strategic autonomy. Macron’s visit is historic, as the last official visit by a French president to the Netherlands was in 2000. The Netherlands seems to support this move, benefiting directly from this strategy, especially in the chip industry. Beyond this aspect, in the face of the interventionism of China and the United States in the economy, Europe loses competitiveness and, therefore, economic growth, if it is not in harmony with the practices of the world market. Or is it precisely the main great strength of the EU, in addition to the normative power to promote fundamental rights: to be a strong economy and an attractive single market. Read the full article and comment on Contributors.ro