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Imploring the European Parliament to act on his ambitious proposals for greater EU integration, French President Emmanuel Macron declared Tuesday: “I do not want to be part of a generation of sleepwalkers.”
In a speech to the Parliament’s plenary in Strasbourg, Macron repeated his major policy proposals, such as reforming the EU’s monetary union, some of which have run into resistance from Germany, among other countries.
Macron said France was willing to increase its contribution to the EU budget and also called for greater cooperation on security and defense, a new EU-wide initiative to integrate refugees and immigrants, and a new tax on giant technology companies that he said are not yet paying their fair share.
His speech was an impassioned defense of European democracy and a rejection of nationalism and populism. [...]
Jean-Claude Juncker's response speech
Related article on Bloomberg: Merkel Commits to a Bold New Europe, Just Not in the Euro Area