BRUSSELS — Far-right leader Marine Le Pen pledged to turn the European Commission into a “secretariat” in the service of its member countries as part of her plan to slash the size and power of the European Union should she win France’s presidential election next year.
“Over the past 10 years, France has seen the implementation of a European vision that is the exact opposite of the one I will champion,” Le Pen told reporters at a press conference in Brussels after a meeting with fellow European far-right leaders. “They wanted a powerful Europe. We got a powerless Europe. They wanted European sovereignty. All we’ve gotten is the dilution of national sovereignty.”
Asked by POLITICO what downsizing the EU would look like in practice, the front-runner in the race to replace term-limited President Emmanuel Macron next year said the EU should pare back its operations in areas it has expanded in recent years such as foreign policy, security and public health.
Le Pen also promised to “stop” the bloc’s Green Deal, which she claimed was harming economic growth, and eliminate institutions like the European Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee.
“I’m not fooled by what the European Commission wants to do. The European Commission wants to turn itself into a state; we do not. And so we will stand in its way,” Le Pen said.
Though Le Pen has abandoned her calls for France to leave the European Union, she remains deeply skeptical of the bloc and its ambition.
She and her National Rally party last week said they would unilaterally slash France’s annual contribution to the EU budget by €11.1 billion as early as next year if Le Pen wins the presidency.
Le Pen frames the move as necessary to help fix France’s disastrous public finances — she is proposing €140 billion in savings by 2032 — but her critics say such a move would set up a dramatic showdown with Brussels that could end with France leaving the bloc.
Le Pen is in Brussels the day before EU leaders meet for key discussions over the bloc’s next seven-year budget, which Council President António Costa had hoped to get finalized before elections in France, Italy and Poland in 2027 that could derail the talks.
But EU countries have weakened their commitment to wrap up negotiations by year-end amid a major split between frugal countries such as Germany, which want to further shrink the budget, and countries like France that support more EU spending.
Le Pen once again reiterated her accusations that Brussels’ attempt to speed up budget talks — which would prevent France’s next government from having a say in the matter — is “a democratic scandal.”
This developing story has been updated.
Le Pen vows to downsize EU as she brings contribution cut fight to Brussels
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