France’s Grand Design for Europe and the Elusive Quest for European Sovereignty

In the context of the Liberal International Order crisis amplified bythe Trump Administration’s America First doctrine and a retreat ofmultilateralism, President Macron was emboldened to carry further hisvision for a Sovereign Europe (Europe-Puissance) capable of ensuringits own strategic autonomy and acting as an independent actor onthe international stage. However, President Macron faces the task ofarticulating a coherent way of achieving this goal, especially givingGermany’s reluctance to accept any changes in the postwar defensestatus quo, and East-Central European anxieties regarding a possibleRussian rapprochement pursued by the French president. Early inhis presidency, Macron proposed his Grand Design for a concentricand multi-speed Europe with different stages of integration, anddifferent levels of functioning, a plan which was met with a degree ofunwillingness from East-Central European capitals.