Does Macron dream of the Nobel Peace Prize?

Emmanuel Macron has taken it upon himself to tackle the delicate diplomatic situation of the war in Ukraine with fresh vigour following his victory last month. This week he addressed the EU parliament on the question of the future of Europe. France has the rotating presidency of the EU Council until June 30 and Macron therefore is the de facto head of the 27 member nations, a role for which his gargantuan ego is well suited.

The main takeaway from Macron’s address was the question of Ukraine’s application to join the EU. They began the process in February, days after Russia invaded, but any hope that president Volodymyr Zelensky had of his country being fast-tracked was quashed by Macron. ‘We all know perfectly well that the process to allow (Ukraine) to join would take several years indeed, probably several decades,’ he said. However, he did raise the possibility of Ukraine becoming a member of a ‘parallel European community’ in the interim.