Macron seeks US help to reinvent multilateralism

French President Emanuel Macron today sought the American involvement to reinvent multilateralism, saying the US' role was decisive for creating and safeguarding today's free world.

He said the US invented multilateralism, enganging countries for pursuing a common goal, and now it has to help to preserve and reinvent it.

"We have to shape our common answers to the global threats that we are facing. The only option then is to strengthen our cooperation. We can build the 21st century world order based on a new breed of multilateralism, based on a more effective, accountable and result-oriented multilateralism, a strong multilateralism," Macron said in the joint address to the US Congress.

He said the multilateralism will allow "our cultures and identities" to be respected and protected.

"Why? Because precisely our own culture is based, on both sides of the Atlantic, on this unique taste for freedom, on this unique attachment for liberty and peace. This strong multilateralism is the unique option compatible with our nations, our cultures, our identities, the French President said.

Seeking the US lawmakers participation in building the 21st century world order, Macron said America and Europe have a historical role in this respect.

"Because it is the only way to defend what we believe in, to promote our universal values, to express strongly that human rights, the rights of minorities, and shared liberty are the true answer to the disorders of the world, he said.

"I believe in the power of intelligently regulated market economies. We are experiencing the positive impact of our current economic globalisation, with innovations, with jobs creations. We see, however, the abuses of globalised capitalism and digital disruptions, which jeopardise the stability of our economies and democracies, he added.

Asserting that facing these challenges requires the opposite of massive deregulation and extreme nationalism, he told the US Congress that commercial war was not the proper answer to this evolution.

"We need a free and fair trade for sure. A commercial war opposing allies is not consistent with our mission, with our history, with our current commitments for the global security. At the end of the day, it will destroy jobs, increase prices and the middle class will have to pay for it," he said.

"I believe we can build the right answers to legitimate concerns regarding trade imbalances, excesses and over capacities by negotiating through the World Trade Organization and building cooperative solutions. We wrote these rules. We should follow them, the French president said.

Noting that the recent Facebook hearings highlighted the necessity to preserve citizens' digital rights all over the world, and protect their confidence in today's digital tools of life, Macron said the European Union has passed a new regulation for data protection.

"I believe the United States and the European Union should cooperate to find the right balance between innovation and ethics, and harness the best of today's revolutions in digital data and artificial intelligence," he said.