Macron Proposes to Reform EU, Create New Eurozone Parliament

Macron propose to reform the European Union and form a parliament of its core eurozone group.

ATHENS (Sputnik) — French President Emmanuel Macron proposed Thursday to reform the European Union and form a parliament of its core eurozone group, during a visit to the birthplace of democracy in Athens.

In a speech delivered from the Pnyx hill where first popular assemblies were held thousands of years ago, he put forward a "new method where a new Europe is not discussed behind closed doors."

Macron said his roadmap involved holding public debates during the first half of 2018 on the future of Europe and in the long run on pan-EU elections to a parliament of the 19-nation eurozone.

The French president, who was elected in spring on a pledge to reform the European Union, said its member states should not be afraid of referendums and find a will for a "reset" if they did not want to be responsible for the union’s end.

Macron emphasized that Europeans – citizens of the modern day "Babylon" with many languages and cultures – would need to redefine national sovereignty to create a new Europe capable of fighting terrorism and upholding the European sovereignty.