Macron Is Getting Ahead of Himself on Europe

French President Emmanuel Macron has failed, at least so far, to revolutionize France, but he’s got Napoleonic plans for a European revolution. As his Republic on the March (LREM) party begins its European Parliament election campaign, Macron has laid out his plan in 22 languages and published it in newspapers throughout the European Union.

Besides a passionate call for resisting nationalism and defending the European project, Macron’s election manifesto contains a number of specific proposals. Most of these would create new EU bureaucratic structures. A European Agency for the Protection of Democracies would help member states defend their elections against cyber attacks and manipulation; a “common border force” and a European asylum office would enforce uniform immigration policies for the Schengen area; a European Council for Internal Security would somehow include the post-Brexit U.K. and make collective decisions on defense matters; a European Climate bank would fund the environmental transition; a European food safety force would “improve our food controls”; a European Innovation Council would get “a budget on a par with thee United States” to fund technological breakthroughs.