The French head of state will take “the time it takes” for “an ambitious agreement” to be reached on the EU budget, he said at the extraordinary EU summit in Brussels on Thursday (20 February).

“There’s a way to reach an agreement during this summit. This path may take a few hours, a few nights, a few days. I’m ready for it,” he said, despite him being expected the day after the summit to be at the opening of France’s biggest agriculture fair in Paris.

In response to recent announcements pointing to a reduced CAP budget which are worrying French farmers already strained with economic, environmental and societal issues, Macron warned that he will “fight to have a Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to match our [France’s] ambitions” in the future budget. (EURACTIV.FR)