Le Pen lands in Brussels lashing out at the European Commission

The French far-right leader wants to strip powers from the EU and cap France’s net contribution to the bloc’s budget at €5 billion a year. “Being pro-France does not mean being anti-Europe,” she says. French far-right leader Marine Le Pen is preparing to challenge the EU’s powers if she is elected president next May. The National Rally leader said the European Commission should stop acting in policy areas she considers outside its remit, including health, security and international diplomacy. "[The Commission] is like the frog in the fable that puffs itself up to be as big as the ox," she said, referring to La Fontaine’s fable, at a press conference in Brussels on Monday. It was following a meeting with leaders of Patriots for Europe, the far-right group her party belongs to. Le Pen, who leads the polls ahead of the presidential election, also said France’s net contribution to the EU budget should be capped at €5 billion a year, a sharp cut from the current level of around €8 billion, according to figures published by the French Senate. "Being pro-France does not mean being anti-Europe," she said, setting out several proposals for EU-wide action. She called for a "real" carbon border tax on imports from countries with weaker environmental standards, with exemptions for products such as fertilisers and coffee that Europe does not produce. She also proposed harmonised taxes on tobacco and alcohol, as well as a common EU corporate tax for large companies, with a single rate of between 20% and 25%. Le Pen said these measures would help ease the burden on French taxpayers. Last week, she unveiled a plan to save €140 billion over five years, aiming to bring France’s public deficit below 3% of GDP by 2030. No more money for Ukraine, sanctions relief for Russia If elected, Le Pen would halt French funding for Ukraine, arguing that France can no longer afford it given the state of its public finances, while pushing for an end to EU sanctions against Russia. "This funding will stop, and it is a matter of honesty to tell [Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy] the truth," she said in response to a question from Euronews. Her position would put France at odds with other EU leaders, who are expected to reaffirm their support for Ukraine at a summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday. In February, EU countries agreed a €90 billion loan to cover Ukraine’s budgetary and military needs, with a first tranche of €45 billion due next year. But Ukraine needs around €70 billion in additional funding, its Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko has warned. Le Pen also broke with the broader EU consensus on the need to step up pressure on Russia to end the war. As the European Commission prepares its 22nd package of sanctions, Le Pen claimed that the restrictions have hurt European economies more than Russia. "We were right to say that sanctions would have had no impact on Russia and would have increased the price of the raw materials they sell," she said, arguing that EU countries have continued buying Russian oil and gas, thereby enriching Moscow.