The European Union is in danger of breaking apart unless
France and Germany, in particular, work harder to stimulate growth
and employment and heed citizens' concerns, French Prime Minister
Manuel Valls said in the German capital on Thursday.
Valls said the two countries, for decades the axis around which
the EU revolved, had to help refocus the bloc to tackle an
immigration crisis, a lack of solidarity between member states,
Britain's looming exit, and terrorism.
"Europe is in danger of falling apart," Valls said at an event
organized by the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper. "So Germany and
France have a huge responsibility."
He said France must continue to open up its economy, not least
by cutting corporate taxation, while Germany and the EU as a whole
must increase investment that would stimulate growth and job
creation, as well as boosting defense.
As Britain seeks to negotiate its post-Brexit relationship with
the EU, hoping to restrict immigration from the EU while
maintaining as much access as possible to the EU single market,
Valls said it must be prevented from cherry-picking.
"If they are able to have all the advantages of Europe without
the inconveniences, then we are opening a window for others to
leave the European Union," Valls said.
Immigration was one of the main drivers of Britons' vote to
leave the EU, and Valls said the bloc, which more than a million
migrants entered last year, had to regain control of its
borders.
He said the Brexit vote and Donald Trump's election victory
showed how important it was to listen to angry citizens, and that
politicians scared of making decisions were opening the door to
populists and demagogues.
In France, opinion polls suggest that the far-right, anti-EU,
anti-immigration National Front leader Marine Le Pen will win the
first round of the presidential election next April, before losing
the runoff.
But Valls said Trump's victory had boosted the chance of an
outright Le Pen victory: "What has changed in the world and Europe
since Nov. 8 is that it's possible."
He said France's election debate was "ignoring the danger posed
by the far-right", adding: "We face a historic moment ... perilous
for the world, perilous for Europe and perilous for France."