France's Ambassador in Croatia, Gaël Veyssière, said on Thursday his country wanted a more effective Schengen passport-free travel area, and that the Belarus crisis showed new tools were needed to ensure a faster response to similar crises.

France currently holds the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union and “recovery, strength, belonging” is the motto of its presidency. It last held this office in 2008, and new challenges have emerged since then.

France wants a more sovereign Europe capable of controlling its borders, the French ambassador told a press conference in Zagreb while presenting the priorities of the French presidency.

He reiterated that France supports Croatia’s bid to join the Schengen area. Our national position is clear. We support Croatia’s entry into Schengen, while at the same time we want to reform Schengen, he said.

Veyssière said France wants a more effective Schengen and better management of it, adding that  the recent crisis with Belarus showed that Schengen needed new tools for a faster response to crises.

The French presidency will be specific because the French are choosing a new president in April and a new parliament in June. Veyssière recalled that France had already been in such a situation in 1995.

Most of the events in France will take place in the first three months of the presidency to avoid their being used for campaigning purposes. The French ambassador said that European affairs would have to be clearly separated from internal affairs as of mid-March.

President Emmanuel Macron has not yet announced his bid for a second term in office, but is expected to do so soon.

Asked if France might withdraw its support for Croatia’s Schengen entry if Macron failed to win the election, Veyssière said he could not comment on the potential outcome of the vote, but stressed that France tried to be consistent in its policy, including in the case of major changes.

In addition to the Schengen reform, the ambassador also mentioned the Strategic Compass, which is expected to be adopted in March. This document aims to increase strategic autonomy in defence and security.

The EU’s goal is not just recovery from COVID-19 but the transition to a green and digital economy, Veyssière said.

He said that a special summit devoted to the economy and defining a new economic growth model for this decade would be organised in France in March.

The third priority of the French presidency is belonging. We want Europe to be closer to its citizens, the ambassador said.

France is holding the EU presidency amid the Conference on the Future of Europe, and recommendations for the future of Europe are expected to be formulated by the spring. The success of this project will largely depend on the fulfilment of Europeans’ demands.

Over the next six months as EU president, France will organise over 500 events in Europe and over 400 in France. Among the first events in Croatia, the Croatian Baroque Ensemble will hold a concert on 20 January.

President Macron has announced a conference on the Western Balkans for June, saying that the Western Balkans is more than a neighbour because it is at the heart of Europe.

The Western Balkans is also our priority because security in the Western Balkans means our security as well, the French ambassador said.