French would-be president Macron says would seek Poland sanctions

[webfact]

French would-be president Macron says would seek Poland sanctions

By Sarah White

REUTERS

 

Emmanuel Macron, head of the political movement En Marche !, or Onwards !, and candidate for the 2017 presidential election, leaves his home in Paris, France, April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer

 

PARIS (Reuters) - French centrist Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday France would push for European Union sanctions against Poland if he is elected president, signalling he wanted to take the lead in defending the bloc's democratic values.

 

Macron, a pro-EU candidate who topped the first round of voting in France's two-part presidential election, is tipped to win a run-off against eurosceptic far-right leader Marine Le Pen on May 7.

 

He told several regional newspapers in an interview that he would pursue a tougher line with Poland and other countries which he believed were infringing EU principles.

 

"When the rights and values of the European Union are not respected, I want sanctions to be taken," he said.

 

Poland's nationalist-minded government has been embroiled in a dispute with the EU for over a year after a series of reforms which according to Brussels weaken the independence of the judiciary and risk undermining democratic checks and balances.

 

The European Commission has so far stopped short of any further action, and is seeking the views of member states.

 

"In the three months after I'm elected, there will be a decision on Poland," Macron was quoted as saying in an interview with several regional newspapers, including Ouest-France and the Voix du Nord.

 

"You cannot have a European Union which argues over every single decimal place on the issue of budgets with each country, and which, when you have an EU member which acts like Poland or Hungary on issues linked to universities and learning, or refugees, or fundamental values, decides to do nothing."

 

Poland has come under fire for instance for refusing to host refugees under an EU-wide plan to alleviate the pressure on countries like Greece and Italy who have borne the brunt of arrivals.

 

Hungary has been strongly criticised over bills drafted by the right-wing government to tighten rules on non-governmental organisations and foreign universities.

 

Macron's criticism of Warsaw comes a day after a row over plans to close a Whirlpool tumble-dryer factory in France as production shifts to Poland took centre-stage in the presidential campaign, with both candidates visiting the factory.

 

Macron alluded to the problem of social dumping - a hot-button issue in France, which refers to companies employing cheaper labour from other EU countries or moving production to lower-wage countries - though he added that he could not bring sanctions in that area.

 

"You cannot have a country that plays on the fiscal and social gaps in the European Union and which is infringing European principles," Macron said.

 

France's place in Europe has turned into one of the central themes of the presidential campaign.

 

Le Pen, who is far behind Macron in opinion polls, says she would try to negotiate a radical overhaul of France's EU membership during the first six months of her presidency and then hold a referendum on whether to quit the EU.

 

Macron, meanwhile, has sought to reinforce his credentials as a leader who would have a strong voice within Europe, as a defender of human rights for instance.

 

"It's an issue that's close to his heart," Clement Beaune, Macron's adviser on European affairs, told Reuters. "He's saying: you cannot ask for there to be budget rules and very precise sanctions on that and then not do anything on more important issues like values."

 

Beaune added that Macron was seeking to send a message of "strength and credibility" on European values to Russia, the United States and the rest of Europe.

 

(Reporting by Sarah White, Michel Rose and Emmanuel Jarry; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-04-28

[MobileContent]

No need to do any sanctions, those Eastern European countries might leave one day the EU

[nontabury]

This stooge says he will defend the E.U.s democratic values.  That's the all thing about the E.U.   "It's not democratic"

[Ulic]

Macron clearly does not understand Poland's and Hungary's position on settling refugees.

It is not that they do not want them, it is they STRONGLY believe refugees should be allowed

to settle where they want in the EU. Especially when Mamma Merkel is calling far and wide

that all are welcome and will be looked after. Merkel  has called out and economic migrants

are flooding in.

[ilostmypassword]

4 minutes ago, Ulic said:

Macron clearly does not understand Poland's and Hungary's position on settling refugees.

It is not that they do not want them, it is they STRONGLY believe refugees should be allowed

to settle where they want in the EU. Especially when Mamma Merkel is calling far and wide

that all are welcome and will be looked after. Merkel  has called out and economic migrants

are flooding in.

But it's not just about refugees, is it?

Poland's nationalist-minded government has been embroiled in a dispute with the EU for over a year after a series of reforms which according to Brussels weaken the independence of the judiciary and risk undermining democratic checks and balances

[Grouse]

Sad to see Polish and French relations deteriorating. They've been allies for centuries. Disappointing to see the recent Polish moves, they got it worse than probably any other country in the war and have only recently escaped the dead hand of soviet rule.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/France–Poland_relations

 

Hungary has always been close with Germany of course.

 

So much "tabloid" nonsense about asylum seekers. There is a legal as well as moral obligation to assist refugees. Good to see that many failed asylum seekers in Germany are being returned. I think large numbers of actuall Syrian refugees will wish to be repatriated as soon as there are safe zones in that country.

[Baerboxer]

5 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

But it's not just about refugees, is it?

Poland's nationalist-minded government has been embroiled in a dispute with the EU for over a year after a series of reforms which according to Brussels weaken the independence of the judiciary and risk undermining democratic checks and balances

 

No it's not. It's really about Macron, Hollande's protege and proxy, reinforcing that France, under their vision, sees itself as one of the leading partners in the EU. He attacks Poland, rightly or wrongly, at a time Whirlpool want to relocate a factory from his home town to Poland; and following Le Pen's attack on him for doing little about it and being a part of the political elite who live in the ivory tower.

 

I didn't see Macron, the man so worried about values and people, speaking out about Calais and other migrant camps and about how France was handling this. Nor did he openly lobby for Merkel's quotas which he suddenly chastises Hungary over.

 

The more I see of him, the more I dislike him. He's been shoed into place by Hollande and his cronies as they new the that the socialists and their official candidate would do poorly. 

 

He'll probably win, as predicted and as he believes he's done so already. And France will get Hollande under a more marketable brand.

[clockman]

With corruption costing 800bn pounds a year. And knowing which countries are causing it. I would thought this is more important than other issues?

[3NUMBAS]

While Paris becomes a riot ridden hell hole of imported factions ..Must be terrible living there these days .Crime ridden ..To the max

[Scott]

Off-topic post removed.

 

 

[henry15]

Poland is the US Troyan horse in the EU. And we all know that the US is not in favor of an strong EU . Therefore they try everything to destabelise  the EU.  This is also  why theire support to Turkeys membership for the EU, and why they support the would be Islamo/fascist dictator  Erdogan.

 

[bartender100]

13 hours ago, 3NUMBAS said:

While Paris becomes a riot ridden hell hole of imported factions ..Must be terrible living there these days .Crime ridden ..To the max

Only one man can sort all that out, and thats a woman

[Retiredandhappyhere]

Yes, the EU is so democratic, transparent and accountable that their accounts have not been signed off by the auditors for the past 19 years.  No company within the EU would be allowed to get away with that as they would be struck off and be unable to trade.

 

Meanwhile, the EU stumbles along ignoring all the corruption in its ranks and refusing to admit that there is a problem.  I wonder whether the so-called debt of 60 billion euros supposedly owed by Britain on its exit from the EU was calculated by the same people who prepared the annual accounts.  If so, it should be taken with the same pinch of salt used when studying the EUs accounts.