In Athens, Macron to urge renewal of EU democracy

Thessaloniki Port Authority SA

05/09/2017 14:36

* Macron to speak on 'birthplace of democracy' hill 
    * Some 40 business leaders also travelling to Greece 
 
    By Michel Rose 
    PARIS, Sept 5 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron 
will go to the Athens hill considered the birthplace of 
democracy to urge fellow Europeans to tackle the democratic 
crisis he believes the continent faces, his aides said on 
Tuesday. 
    Macron, who swept to power on a pro-EU platform last May, 
has made reforming the euro zone and EU institutions battered by 
a series of crises - from the economy, to immigration and Brexit 
- a priority of his mandate. 
    "It's a symbol of a new chapter (for Europe)," a French 
presidency official said of the speech Macron plans to give on 
Thursday evening on the hill of Pnyx, where ancient Greeks 
gathered to host popular assemblies. 
    "We have gone through a financial crisis and a sort of 
confidence crisis, Greece knows that, it suffered from them. The 
president wants to show that Europe must be rebuilt 
democratically," the official said. 
    Macron will promote his campaign proposal to launch 
"democratic conventions" - or public debates - in European 
countries to discuss the future of the EU.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1JU4UK 
    The president, whose popularity ratings have slumped at home 
following a series of unpopular measures including proposals to 
cut public spending and welfare benefits, also wants to make 
institutions governing Europe's single currency more democratic. 
    He wants a euro zone finance minister to manage a common 
budget that would be accountable to a euro zone parliament, but 
that proposal has met with robust resistance abroad, notably in 
Berlin.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1LH65C 
    During a two-day trip ending on Friday, Macron will be 
accompanied by around 40 French business leaders, including from 
blue-chip firms Total, L'Oreal, Sanofi, Engie and Vinci. 
    After a German-French consortium won a majority stake in 
Thessaloniki Port  OLTr.AT  last June, France is keen to push 
its companies to invest in Greek infrastructure, energy and the 
agri-food business. 
    French officials also want to avoid more strategic sectors 
of the Greek economy from falling into non-European hands after 
China's COSCO Shipping  600428.SS  bought a 51 percent stake in 
Piraeus Port  OLPr.AT , Greece's biggest, for 280.5 million 
euros.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1JG39B 
    "It poses a sovereignty problem, it's kind of a European 
failure," the French official said.  
    In June, Macron urged the European Commission to come up 
with a system for screening investments in strategic sectors 
from third countries, something some other western European 
nations have supported.   
    But smaller eastern and southern European economies that 
have benefited from Chinese investments have rejected any steps 
against Beijing.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1JJ56W      
 
 (Additional reporting by Marine Pennetier; editing by John 
Stonestreet) 
 ((michel.rose@thomsonreuters.com; +33149495071; Reuters 
Messaging: Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichelReuters)) 
 
Keywords: FRANCE GREECE/