A certain idea of Europe: How the next French president can lead

Summary:

Europeans are disillusioned with how the global system of international cooperation is handling today’s challenges. Seventy-one per cent of them believe that the system is not working on climate change. Yet it is at the European level that they see a need to strengthen strategic sovereignty.

Even in the weeks leading up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when ECFR’s survey took place, a plurality of respondents said that there was a need for European cooperation to guarantee security at their borders and to tackle future pandemics. They are comfortable with the idea of French leadership on such cooperation efforts. The next French president should pursue a strong European foreign policy agenda to protect Europeans against the threats they are most concerned about, driving the European Union to engage geopolitically with Russian and Chinese efforts to reshape the international order. In doing so, the new French president will cement Europeans’ conviction that the EU can face up to today’s challenges.

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