Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s announcement of the formation of a new far right alliance at the European Parliament with two more European partners points to an effort to carve out a larger role coinciding with Hungary’s presidency of the Council of the EU.
Macron hopes to offset Marie Le Pen’s popularity by appointing a young loyalist in Gabriel Attal with firm views on far right’s forte, i.e., immigration.
The future of Europe’s security architecture will depend largely on how well it blends its dependence and deepening with NATO on the one hand and its quest for strategic autonomy on the other.
The Orban government’s foreign and domestic policies will continue to be under the EU’s scanner, as it seeks to ramp up pressure on Russia for precipitating the worst security crisis that Europe is witnessing after the Second World War.
The Ukrainian crisis is less about Ukraine, its national politics and foreign policy, and more about redefining the rules not only of the European security but also the international order and the simmering rivalry between great powers in particular.
Emmanuel Macron has been aiming high for the EU to reiterate its global positioning through a series of policy reforms. With him at the helm of the Council of the EU, there exists an opportunity to translate it into reality.
With few convergences among partners, the path of the “traffic light coalition” headed by Olaf Scholz is laden with challenges, but also offers spaces for positive action. With several new faces in key positions, its success would lie in maintaining continuity, and tweaking it to accommodate necessary changes when required.
