President Emmanuel Macron, now in his second term, is among the strongest voices campaigning for a European Union taking its destiny in its own hands. In Macron's words, the E.U. needs "strategic autonomy." This concept of sovereignty encompasses everything from a common budget and spending more on defense, to stronger supervision of the digital market and much more.

How much is Macron's progress toward these goals? Is he the de facto leader of the E.U. after German Chancellor Angela Merkel's retirement? Is Macron steering the European Union in a French direction? Host Liu Kun is joined by Christian Lequesne, Professor of European Politics at Sciences Po; Dr. Susan Collard, Senior Lecturer in French Politics & Contemporary European Studies at the University of Sussex; Clifford Kiracofe, Washington-based author and former Senior Professional Staff Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.