Historic EU deal was all about European solidarity – French Foreign Minister
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France’s foreign minister dismissed accusations by far-left lawmakers that President Emmanuel Macron had struck an EU economic recovery deal that sold Paris short, saying on Tuesday (July 21) it was “historic” and showed European solidarity.
“Your recovery plan promises no recovery,” far left lawmaker for the France Unbowed party, Eric Coquerel, told the country’s foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian during government questions in parliament.
“You call this a failure. I call this a historic advance,” Le Drian responded.
The agreement, struck after four days of tough negotiations in Brussels, paves the way for the European Commission, the EU‘s executive, to raise billions of euros on capital markets on behalf of all 27 states, an unprecedented act of solidarity in almost seven decades of European integration.
Macron acknowledged earlier on Tuesday that concessions had to be made to win over member states whose objections were blocking a deal. But, he said, the concessions were proportionate, and necessary to deliver a recovery plan big enough to be effective.
The deal was met with immediate derision from French far-left and far-right parties, including National Rally leader Marine Le Pen who criticised the deal on Twitter.
