March 28. 2024. 10:15

The Daily

Read the World Today

The Brief — Tintin returns from China


It is an almost impossible job to be Macron’s advocate these days. The writer of this Brief admires the French president’s ambition for European strategic autonomy, but how he expressed his ideas on his plane returning from China has caused serious damage.

In his aeroplane interview with French daily Les Echos and news portal Politico published on Sunday (9 April), Macron called for the EU to reduce its dependence on the US and to become a “third pole” in world affairs alongside Washington and Beijing.

So far, so good.

But the way he developed his ideas shocked many. In particular, Macron warned against the EU being “caught into a crisis which is not ours”, referring to Taiwan.

This is our translation of Macron’s words, reported by Les Echos:

“The question posed to us Europeans is the following: do we have an interest in escalating the subject of Taiwan? No. The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans should follow suit on this subject and adapt to the American rhythm and a Chinese overreaction. Why should we go at the pace chosen by others?”

Diplomats from Eastern Europe were particularly shocked by the French President’s words, while former US president Donald Trump said Macron was “kissing [Xi’s] ass in China”.

My best contact in Ukraine, analyst Roman Rukomeda, commented, “It is very dangerous to observe how some key European politicians are trying to make agreements with China opposing Europe to the US”.

Rukomeda, like many Ukrainians, insists that the core values of EU countries are totally different from those in China, which is drowning in a new period of totalitarianism.

He doesn’t see it as a coincidence if Macron, among the European politicians who have cold feet about supporting Ukraine militarily, prepares grounds for illusive peace talks with Russia involving China – though Macron himself admitted that Ukraine is “maybe not” a priority for Chinese diplomacy.

Bad examples are always contagious. If the security concerns of the US are not the security concerns of the EU, why should the US continue its support for Ukraine?

US Republican Senator Marco Rubio reacted to Macron’s interview by saying that if Europe doesn’t “pick sides between the US and China over Taiwan, then maybe we shouldn’t be picking sides either [on Ukraine]”.

At a time when Ukraine prepares for a spring counter-offensive hoping it would become a game changer toward victory, Macron’s interview seems to confirm that Ukraine is just a pawn in a bigger game.

Leaked US documents suggest that Washington doubts Ukraine’s ability to launch an effective counteroffensive and paints a bleak picture of the months ahead. The documents depict the picture of insufficient and unfulfilled arms supplies, suggesting that the next stage will be peace talks to put an end to the conflict, at least in its present form.

It is not in the US interest to have two fronts simultaneously. For Washington, since World War II, the Asia-Pacific theatre has been more important than the European one, and extinguishing the fire in Ukraine, the sooner, the better, no matter the details, looks like a priority.

Moreover, the US doesn’t want the ruin of Russia, which would follow the collapse of the Russian Federation. Such a scenario not only brings more insecurity than the war in Ukraine – but could make China even stronger.

If Macron wants to give Washington the excuse to disengage from Ukraine, he may be close to achieving such a goal, although we don’t believe this was his design.

Last but not least, Macron should not have travelled to China together with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen because the two are not on the same board on any of the issues above. The overall impression for the Chinese is that, yes, the EU exists, but it matters little.

Last week I compared Macron to Tintin, not a dishonourable comparison, considering Hergé’s character as an archetype of a courageous explorer committed to the fight against evil.

But, as I wrote previously, Tintin is also perceived as somewhat naïve and prone to blunders. It seems I underestimated the size of the blunder.


The Roundup

Amid the controversy caused by French President Emmanual Macron’s China trip, the EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell is expected to present a unified EU front on China policy during his visit later this week.

In her draft report on the proposed European Media Freedom Act, the European Parliament’s rapporteur reinforced a controversial content oversight provision and pushed for greater independence of a new regulatory body.

Makers of cardboard-based packaging say the entire retail sector will have to switch to plastic crates and boxes because of the EU’s planned crackdown on packaging waste, which imposes reuse targets for packaging in transport and logistics.

Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Peter Szijarto expressed dissatisfaction over the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba’s recent presence at the Ukraine–NATO Commission, held in Brussels earlier this month for the first time in six years.

Youth activists are pushing for better recognition of youth’s voices and needs in European policy-making while also making sure young people feel safe to participate, a key concern as next year’s European elections draw closer.

EU lawmakers are set to adopt a non-binding resolution urging the European Commission not to endorse the Data Privacy Framework for transatlantic data flows until fundamental rights concerns are fully addressed.

And finally, check out our Green Brief: What the f*** are F-gases?!

Look out for…

  • Commissioners Paolo Gentiloni and Valdis Dombrovskis in Washington DC for meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
  • Commissioner Stella Kyriakides to deliver remarks on health screening recommendations.