Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, his Luxembourg counterpart Xavier Bettel and French President Emmanuel Macron are discussing the creation of "a coalition of goodwill" of supporters of giving an effective impulse to Europe, RTBF channel reported.
Belgian Prime Minister recalled that there will be important elections in Germany in few weeks. He noted that there will probably be "a unique moment for giving a real new impetus to the European project in the year of the 60th anniversary of the European Union." "And we believe that it's time to restart our ambitions, so that Europe was felt by our fellow citizens, families, businesses as a good deed, as improvement, with greater security, greater protection and greater freedom," Interfax cited Michel as saying.
According to media reports, the entry of a new generation of European politicians of about the same age and one (liberal) political orientation into the political sphere may provide additional opportunities for the restart of Europe.
Macron proposed a list of a dozen "fundamental points", which, in his opinion, should help Europe to make a breakthrough - the currency and economic union, social aspects, defense, etc.
The French President's initiative supplements the proposals on renewal of the European Union made by Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg at the beginning of the year on the sidelines of the EU summit in Malta.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was not involved in the meeting in Luxembourg, but Macron, Bettel and Michel claim that he shares their views.
French president said that he will meet with Rutte in Paris tomorrow to discuss his proposals.
A senior research fellow at the European Research Centre of the International Relations Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Olenchenko, speaking with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza, said that Macron's initiative to "reorganize" the EU comes primarily from French interests, both economic and political. "The French economy is very tense - it has always been socially oriented, but now they do not have enough money, so Paris is looking for opportunities to restructure the economy and external sources of financing," he said in the first place.
"Another internal reason is that Macron is rapidly losing popularity within the country, so he needs quick and effective measures to increase his rating. There is an external reason as well - Macron was not first to mention this topic: Angela Merkel is actively working on it, other leading countries of the European Union are working on it," Vladimir Olenchenko noted.
"In this regard, 'a coalition of goodwill' is intended to offer European society just another scenario for its reform," the expert concluded, adding that the reform of the European Union is capable of improving relations between Europe and Russia.
"The fact is that the EU is overloaded by members now, it includes not just donor countries, but also dependent countries - Eastern Europe, the Baltics, partially the Balkans. The leading countries want to find a model, which would allow them more freedom in adopting decisions and using finances.The idea of the so-called "two-speed Europe" is very popular: donor countries are the main link, the rest will follow them, and only "first-speed" countries will have the right to make decisions and manage finances," Vladimir Olenchenko stressed.
