France is ready to champion larger EU

Report of a FT interview with Jean-Pierre Jouyet, France's Minister for Europe, January 2008. In advance of France's Presidency of the European Union for the period July-December 2008 Mr Jouyet outlines France's evolving EU policies. In addition to a more enthusiastic approach to the further enlargement of the EU (although not to include Turkey), France priorities were a bigger role for the EU in defence and security, energy and the environment, an EU-wide pact on immigration and integration of foreigners and new regulation of financial markets following the credit squeeze.