Macron presents vision for post-Brexit Europe

paris - French President Emmanuel Macron set out his vision on Tuesday for a "profound transformation" of the European Union, unveiling a series of proposals to deepen the bloc politically and harmonise rules across the continent.

"The Europe that we know is too weak, too slow, too inefficient," he said as he began the closely-watched address at the prestigious Sorbonne university in Paris.

"But Europe alone can give us the ability to act in the world faced with big contemporary challenges."

Macron's proposals for a post-Brexit shake-up include plans to give the 19-member eurozone a finance minister, budget and parliament, as well as creating a Europe-wide "rapid reaction force" to work with national armies.

He also called for a new tax on technology giants like Facebook and Apple - accused of paying too little corporate tax on their businesses in Europe - and an EU-wide asylum agency to deal with the migrant crisis.

He even raised the prospect of major changes to the Common Agricultural Policy, the EU's giant farm subsidy programme, which has historically been defended by France and its powerful agricultural lobbies.

Macron is desperate for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's endorsement of his reform agenda, but his plans were dealt a blow by shock election results that saw the anti-immigration, eurosceptic Alternative for Germany (AfD) emerge as the country's third-largest party. Merkel must now try form a government that is likely to include the Free Democratic Party (FDP), whose leader is an outspoken critic of Macron's European agenda and has said a eurozone budget would be a "red line".

Source: Khaleej Times