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

In the context of the Liberal International Order crisis amplified by the Trump Administration’s America First doctrine and a retreat of multilateralism, President Macron was emboldened to carry further his vision for a Sovereign Europe (Europe-Puissance) capable of ensuring its own strategic autonomy and acting as an independent actor on the international stage. However, President Macron faces the task of articulating a coherent way of achieving this goal, especially giving Germany’s reluctance to accept any changes in the postwar defense status quo, and East-Central European anxieties regarding a possible Russian rapprochement pursued by the French president. Early in his presidency, Macron proposed his Grand Design for a concentric and multi-speed Europe with different stages of integration, and different levels of functioning, a plan which was met with a degree of unwillingness from East-Central European capitals