The next European elections will be held on the 26th of May and will be crucial, with regard to internal and external challenges the European Union is facing today. Internally, the rule of law is regularly questioned by some member states’ governments, which promote alternative regimes, such as the “illiberal democracy”. Similarly, Brexit negotiations generates tensions within the UK and the EU but also between European peoples. Externally, growing tensions internationally, either it concerns trade policies or diplomatic decisions, challenge the European capacity to act as one, coherent, actor on the world stage. Considering these issues, the French political party, La République en Marche, organises a training session, inviting European affairs experts to share their analysis and therefore make the current European situation clearer to the participants.

This is in this framework that Sébastien Maillard intervenes : the EU sees herself as the guardian of certain values, such as the preservation of peace, world trade liberalisation and multilateralism and strives to be a front-running diplomatic actor. While the United States of Donald Trump challenges the agreement over Iran’s nuclear programme and impose trade sanctions to the EU and China, how the EU may act in this new world order ? How could she stand as a diplomatic and trade power ? He will intervene aside with Coralie Dubost, Vice-president of République en Marche group at the French National Assembly, Sabine Thillaye, President of the European affairs commission the French National Assembly, Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade, Vice-president of the European affairs commission the French National Assembly and Valère Moutarlier, Director in charge of direct taxation, tax coordination, economic analysis and evaluation at the Directorate Generale for Taxation and Customs at the Eutropean Commission.