European Sovereignty According to Emmanuel Macron. Problems and Paradoxes of a Classical Concept

Emmanuel Macron’s speech “For a sovereign, united and democratic Europe” in September 2017 at the Sorbonne is at the heart of many academic and activist debates on the future of the European Union. However, the idea of shared sovereignty on a European scale raises questions. Can Member States retain their sovereignty if the Union is sovereign? Are the words of the French president anything more than a good word? The problems and paradoxes that constitute classical theories of sovereign power may allow us to question the conceptual content of E. Macron’s agenda for Europe.