The speech Emmanuel Macron delivered on Tuesday about the future of Europe could easily have been anticipated as an exercise in wishful thinking, or just another attempt to boost EU morale. Speaking only two days after the German election had rattled nerves with a far-right surge, the French president was well aware that his words – and especially the way he would lay out his plans for deeper eurozone integration – would be scrutinised, at a time when Angela Merkel’s prospective coalition partners wouldn’t all necessarily be keen to endorse them.

For all its potential pitfalls, this was a welcome, forward-looking speech for the continent. The Brexit vote, Donald Trump, migration and the rise of populism have delivered blows to the EU. Even if the club’s economic prospects seem to be improving, its fragility remains real. Europe’s neighbourhood, conflicts in the Middle East, Vladimir Putin’s Russia, and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Turkey are all sources of concern.

Mr Macron is not the first to try to instil more confidence in the EU’s prospects after the hazardous years the club has just experienced. This month, Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the EU commission, tried to strike an upbeat tone, saying the EU could now “catch the wind in its sails”. Days later, struggling with her own Brexit quandary, Theresa May spoke in Florence of a deep partnership between the EU and Britain after its departure, with security cooperation described as central. In this European autumn of speeches, it remains to be seen whether words can be matched by realities.

Eurosceptics will sneer at some of the flowing rhetoric, but Mr Macron can hardly be faulted for trying to set a vision for the continent when so many uncertainties remain. Now is the time, the French president said, for the EU to be rebooted as a project harnessing “genuine sovereignty, unity and democracy”. He listed priorities: security cooperation, defence (the creation of a “European rapid response force” by 2020), a common asylum policy, a digital union, education (the creation of “European universities”), and the environment (the introduction of a “European carbon tax”). He called for pan-European lists to be set up for the 2019 European parliament election – implying the emergence of pan-European parties – and wants “democratic conventions” to be organised across the continent next year, giving citizens a more direct say on what Europe should become.

This was a speech seeking to reinvigorate a European spirit, of the sort the founding fathers created after the devastation of the wars of the 20th century. Europe would increasingly be multi-speed, Macron said, with groups of member states moving forward on some projects unimpeded by the refusal – or lack of readiness – of others to join them. Deeper eurozone integration was mentioned, but cautiously, no doubt keeping in mind that difficult coalition talks lie ahead in Germany. Mr Macron said he was confident that Mrs Merkel would demonstrate the same “European commitment”, “audacity” and “sense of history”.

Mr Macron no doubt wants to hoist his country into Europe’s driving seat, alongside Germany. Much is at stake for him, as he undergoes difficult economic reforms in his own country. Some of what he has said may remain a wishlist, but the impetus he’s trying to create is laudable. It was telling that Brexit was only briefly mentioned (as “ongoing discussions that do not define the future of Europe”). But an important message was delivered all the same: as Europe transforms, deepens its integration and envisages further enlargements (the Balkans), Britain will, “if it so wishes”, one day “again find the place that belongs to it”, Mr Macron suggested. Speeches do matter. They can infuse energy, rally support, set goals, and they help understand challenges in a way that makes it easier to confront them. Mr Macron’s message needs to be heeded: Europe needs more, not fewer, ambitions.