Emmanuel Macron’s controversial remarks on China and Taiwan continue to cause a stir. MEP Manfred Weber, leader of the centre-right EPP grouping in the European Parliament, is the latest to attack the French president’s geopolitical vision, which he describes as a “disaster.”
The French president caused a storm of reaction internationally when he said that Europe should not “follow” the U.S. policy in the crisis between China and Taiwan and instead try to keep a balanced position—a standpoint that the German conservative MEP finds highly objectionable. Weber defended his point of view in an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera on Monday, April 17th. Even before this interview, Weber had reacted very quickly on social media to Macron’s statement by saying that according to him, “no middle ground between international law and the pursuit of empire by autocrats” could exist.
Speaking to the Italian press, Manfred Weber did not spare his criticism of the French president. After describing Macron’s stance as a “disaster,” he added that his controversial remarks had “weakened the European Union.” According to him, this position has had a dramatic effect on Eastern European countries which, subjected more directly to the Russian threat, will now think that they cannot trust Paris or Berlin, and thus strengthen their ties with Washington—to the detriment of the overall coherence of the European edifice.
Macron’s declaration, inviting Europe not to blindly follow the United States, but to seek a middle way between Beijing and Washington, is, for Weber, proof that the European Union is not yet able to propose a common political line on the thorny issue of relations with China. According to him, the definition of a common strategy towards Beijing must be one of the priorities of the next European Council, which is due to meet in June.
Macron’s position towards China and Taiwan is not the only concern Weber expressed in his interview with Il Corriere della Sera. He also asserts his overall support for Italy in the fight against illegal immigration.
