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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Macron faces big foreign policy week after a dynamic start

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PARIS: Facing sliding approval ratings at home, Emmanuel Macron (pictured) will lay out his foreign policy vision this week after a dynamic start on the international stage that has yet to produce results.


On Monday, he welcomes the African leaders of Chad, Niger and Libya as well as his European counterparts from Germany, Spain and Italy for talks expected to focus on cutting illegal migration to Europe.


On Tuesday, he will speak at the annual meeting of France’s ambassadors in Paris where he will lay out his priorities for the coming year in front of 200 envoys.


“Macron has made a successful entrance on the international scene in terms of style, and style is important in international affairs,” said former diplomat Michel Duclos from the Montaigne Institute think-tank in Paris. “Thanks to him, France is audible again in the world,” he added. “Will that be followed by results? That’s another question.”


Macron, a 39-year-old centrist, won power in May determined to restore what he saw as the country’s declining international prestige under former Socialist president Francois Hollande.


His first 100 days in office have been marked by a series of headline-catching announcements and a streak of meetings in Paris or abroad where he has often spoken candidly with foreign leaders.


He won plaudits at home for raising human rights in Russia during his meeting with President Vladimir Putin, while he also took a stand against President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the US from the Paris accord on fighting climate change.


In Europe, he has singled out the hard-right government in Poland for criticism, saying the country had “decided to go against European interests in many areas.”


Macron’s plans for the 28-member European Union are likely to be at the heart of his speech on Tuesday.


He has already spoken about his ambition to create a more “protective Europe” which better shields its people and industry from foreign investment in strategic economic sectors and unfair imports from abroad.


But he also has a long-term vision of deepening cooperation between the bloc’s members and changing the EU’s institutions, particularly for those members which use the euro as a common currency.


His ability to usher in changes, such as creating a new budget for the euro zone, will depend in large part on the success of his domestic economic overhauls, some experts say.


“Everyone in Europe, in Germany above all, is watching to see what Macron does with the labour code and his ambition of reducing the budget deficit,” said former diplomat Pierre Vimont from the Carnegie Europe think-tank.


Macron’s signature economic reform — scrapping large parts of the country’s 300-page labour code and trimming the powers of trade unions — is set to be unveiled in September and will face immediate resistance from street protesters. — AFP


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