Judy Asks: Does the French Vote Weaken Europe?

Pol Morillas, Director of the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB), answers Judy Dempsey’s question for her blog Strategic Europe: “Does the French Vote Weaken Europe?”. “The Council of the EU will not be as coerced by populist forces as it could have been with a Jordan Bardella-led government. But it would be wrong to assume that the message of the “patriots” has disappeared. Unlike in the previous populist moment, these forces now have a vision for the EU, and it is convincing to many: in a world where powers and nations endure as the main actors, Europe shouldn’t be the exception. Their main objectives are now the repatriation of powers from Brussels to national capitals and putting on hold any new efforts for EU integration. This is certainly a feature of European politics that will permeate the EU agenda for the years to come”, explains Morillas.