Emmanuel Macron and the members of the European Commission paid tribute on Friday January 7 at the Panthéon to Jean Monnet and Simone Veil, two pillars of European construction, on the occasion of the launch of the French presidency of the Council of the EU.
Two huge photos of Jean Monnet, one of the founding fathers of the European Union, and Simone Veil, who was president of the European Parliament, had been placed at the foot of the facade of the Parisian monument.
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The French President and the President of the European Commission Ursula Von der Leyen gathered in front of the vaults of Simone Veil, who entered the Pantheon in 2018 after her death the previous year, and of Jean Monnet, buried in 1988. At the end of it of the ceremony, Emmanuel Macron and Ursula Von der Leyen met at the Elysee Palace for an interview, which will be followed by a joint press conference.
The day before, the traditional opening visit of the rotating EU presidency began with a dinner at the Élysée Palace with members of the Commission and those of the French government.
Discussions focus on the priorities set out by Emmanuel Macron in his press conference on the French presidency (PFUE) on December 9, from migration issues to minimum wage.
But also on several hot issues, including tensions in Ukraine and Kazakhstan, post-Brexit relations with the United Kingdom or respect for the rule of law in Poland and Hungary.
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Some 400 meetings are planned, mainly over the first three months because of the presidential election in France.
They will include in particular the reception in Paris of the President of the European Council Charles Michel next week, before a speech by Emmanuel Macron followed by a debate in the European Parliament on January 19, then an informal European summit on March 10 and 11 in a location still undetermined in France.
