PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th September, 2018) French President Emmanuel Macron will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Marseille on Friday to address pressing European issues ahead of the EU summit in Salzburg on September 20.
The meeting comes just after Macron's visit to Luxembourg, where the leaders of Belgium, Luxembourg, France and the Netherlands addressed the issues of migration and Brexit negotiations. The Macron-Merkel meeting would be focused on European topics, including the euro and the France-backed EU reforms, as well as the deal the bloc is getting after Brexit negotiations with London are completed.
Dr. Paul Smith, a researcher specializing in French politics from the University of Nottingham, believes that the choice of the French biggest port city of Marseille is symbolic, and the issues of migration would be in the spotlight of the meeting.
"It was traditionally the gateway to the [French] empire ... Marseille began as a melting pot in terms of population and migration. I think there is a kind of symbolic value to Marseille. Macron is trying to reclaim the idea of Marseille - a symbol of French diversity, French openness. It's a counterpoint to hit the criticism leveled at him with regard of those ships full of migrants crossing the Mediterranean in summer. Italian and other politicians were quite critical of France's policy in not opening the French port to these ships. So it's an attempt to respond to what's been going on," Smith told Sputnik.
After the seeming consensus reached by the EU leaders on migration at the EU summit in June, the divergences on migration in EU emerged again, with Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini and Hungarian President Viktor Orban labeling Macron their "adversary" on migration issues at their meeting in Milan in August.
Dr. Paul Smith said he believes that the European Union still has a problem with finding a common stance on migration issues.
"We certainly do. There is a level of discourse, of public appearance, and then there's a level of what's actually going on behind the scenes ... The Italian prime minister would say things that keep his majority happy and keeps his voters happy ... There is a certain amount of gearing up for the European election next year. There are going to be more important than any other European election has ever been. So there's a great deal of rhetoric involved," he said.
The upcoming election to the European parliament on May 23 and May 26, 2019, may also be discussed by the French and German leaders, with Macron possibly turning to Merkel for support. On Wednesday, the French media reported that the president was looking to form a progressive coalition to campaign against the right-wing parties that gaining more and more support in Europe.
