French president meeting EU chief, to reveal minister picks

French President Emmanuel Macron waits to welcome UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, Tuesday, May 16, 2017. (Yoan Valat/Pool Photo via AP)

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron is meeting with the European Union president as both try to keep the bloc from falling apart.

Macron, who will also verify his choices for government ministers, is hosting Donald Tusk in the Elysee Palace in a sign of the new French president’s determination to shore up European unity.

Macron wants European militaries to work together more, and for eurozone countries to share a budget and tax rules. He has also promised a tough line on Britain as it negotiates its departure from the EU.

Macron’s office will announce the government lineup Wednesday afternoon, after a delay to dig deeper into proposed ministers’ tax records and potential conflicts of interest. A series of tax evasion and other scandals hit the previous government.