According to Emmanuel Macron, Europe will have three groups of countries within a decade. The first will include the EU countries and the surrounding nations, including Russia and Turkey. This group will be less integrated than the EU, but Macron expects peace from the inclusion of Russia and Turkey.
The Czech Republic will probably be in the second group of countries. These are the Member States that have not adopted the euro. And as far as the third group of countries is concerned, France will have the main say, it will be a progressive, integrated group, which will actually be a single country.
Macron’s thoughts remind Pikora of Napoleon’s vision of Europe. Next to such a “grand and naive” view of Europe, Pikora identifies a completely different perspective, represented, for example, by Hungary, which wants to revert to the traditional values of national countries and to step on the brakes regarding multiculturalism. The European elections will decide which perspective will win.
As in America, Europe is now struggling for so-called liberal democracy, which is a meaningless term, because non-liberal democracy is contradictory. “In blunt terms, it’s just a fight for multiculturalism”, although the defenders of liberal democracy, such as Macron, refuse to call it by the proper name.
However, a greater opposition against France has been forming, with Poland, Austria and Italy in it in addition to Hungary. The Czech Republic and Slovakia are still undecided. The Czech Republic has no independent Foreign Affairs Minister, let alone an autonomous foreign policy.
“Eventually, we’ll have to take sides with someone, because there will be nothing in between. It will be unpleasant. But in any case, I think it would be foolish to betray the V4,” Pikora says.
