London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 11, 2025

EU faces battle between two ideas of sovereignty

EU faces battle between two ideas of sovereignty

Europe Letter: Ambition of French presidency may collide with Hungarian and Polish agendas

The European Union is about to face a battle of wills. In January, France will assume the six-month rotating presidency of the council of the European Union. Ambitious for changes, never lacking a problem he thinks the EU couldn’t solve, and facing an impending election, President Emmanuel Macron will be seeking results to prove to his sceptical public that the bloc is an effective actor in addressing matters of French concern.

Unstoppable force, meet immovable object. Macron assumes the role with Hungary and Poland locked in a dispute with the EU over rule of law and ready to use their vetos to stop the EU from agreeing on anything.

Justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro has warned Poland could wield “a veto on all matters that require unanimity in the EU” if the European Commission does not release funds it is holding back due to concerns over political interference with the courts.

Hungary, which already uses its veto liberally in foreign affairs resolutions, has been threatening to deploy it to block a the transposition of the OECD tax deal to set a 15 per cent minimum corporation tax. The reform is dear to the heart of Paris, while Budapest was one of the last holdouts against it. Hungary has an even lower corporation tax rate than Ireland, at 9 per cent.

Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban and his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki have courted Macron’s domestic opposition. They both recently hosted the far-right leader Marine Le Pen and Orban went one step further by inviting to Budapest the firebrand TV pundit Eric Zemmour.

Holding the presidency means it will be French diplomats who broker discussions between member states and negotiations to finalise laws with the parliament and commission. When national leaders and ministers gather in Brussels, it will be the French representative who chair the meeting.

Each member state brings its own flavour and priorities to the term. This one will be bifurcated by the first round of the French elections in April, giving Macron just three months to prove his Eurosceptic domestic opponents wrong.

High on the priority list: migration, and how to toughen control of the EU’s external borders. These will be an undercurrent at a summit with the African Union in February. Exerting control in a region that is a point of origin and transit for people who migrate to Europe was part of the rationale for a French and EU military presence in the Sahel region, the site of a sprawling conflict that has been dubbed “Europe’s forever war”.

France is geopolitically ambitious, and has long argued for greater EU strength in defending its interests. Its presidency will culminate in a March defence summit aimed to strike a new deal to allow the bloc to strategically address its weaknesses and build capacity to react decisively if the need arises. Some proposals, such as a 5,000-strong rapid reaction force and greater investment in defence, will veer close to the kind of ideas that have been most effective in triggering concerns in the Irish electorate about EU integration in the past.

Something else to watch for is a tougher line towards Britain. France is sensitive to being undercut if the UK decides to slash regulations and has never had much tolerance for demands from British officials for looser checks on goods going into Northern Ireland and an assumption of good faith.

Many in Paris believe that the commission has been wrong to react to British hard bargaining with concessions and have pushed for the preparation of infringement proceedings that could lead to punitive tariffs on trade.

Industrial policy


It’s an idea that makes the Irish Government uneasy due to the economic and political fallout. So can French ideas about industrial policy.

France champions the idea of Europe having its own supply chains for strategically crucial items, whether medicines or microchips. As a small country that benefits from open international markets, Ireland does not believe supply chains can be anything but global and opposes protective trade policies that risk triggering reciprocal actions and ultimately hampering trade for all.

It all falls under Macron’s idea of “European sovereignty”: the idea of European countries amplifying their strength by acting collectively and through more ready willingness to wield that power. It’s in contrast to the national sovereignty championed by the Polish and Hungarian governments and Macron’s domestic opponents, which is often defined in opposition to the EU.

Earlier this year he described it as follows: “We must move from a Europe of cooperation within our borders to a Europe that is powerful in the world, fully sovereign, free in its choices and master of its destiny.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
×