A Breakfast Lesson in the Art of Friendship, Prodi-Style (Roger Ailes gives the EU's tail a twist.)

The Telegraph ^ | November 10, 2003 | Barbara Amiel

[quidnunc]

Last Monday, high up in a New York City Fifth Avenue apartment, where the russet tree tops of Central Park spread like a carpet and white clouds floated just above eye level, 15 or so media folk gathered. The breakfast was called for 8.30am and at 8.46 the distinguished visitors arrived, a dark-suited little phalanx of rimless glasses and smart electronic organisers. In their centre was the president of the European Commission, Romano Prodi.

Seated on my right was the EU's director-general of press and communications, a handsome Italian with buttery brown curls framing mournful brown eyes. More mournful, I thought, than such a bright morning in New York called for.

His breakfast lay untouched as he gazed with furious concentration at his cellphone's text messages. "We have a very, very serious problem in Brussels," he explained.

It appeared that an EU poll, made public that very morning, had named Israel as the greatest danger to world peace — followed by the United States. A bit of a bummer for the visit, one thought, to a city and an occasion with rather a lot of Jewish-Americans.

Mr Prodi's breakfast address was, given the circumstances, understandably incoherent. He had just flown in from China (or possibly North Korea — a lesser threat to world peace than Israel but tied with the United States) and the travel must have been taxing. The thrust of his message seemed to be that the EU loved America but could not help in Iraq.

The EU was also sorry about Turkey, but that country could not be a member until it put its human rights and democracy in order. Meanwhile, Romania and Bulgaria were ahead in the queue.

His remarks struck me as peculiar. Turkey has been an EU candidate-member since 1997 and first applied to the EEC in 1959 when Romania and Bulgaria were still singing the Internationale. Doubtless Romania has substantially improved since the heyday of Mr and Mrs Ceausescu , but in a country where all libel is a criminal offence and Romanian journalists investigating government activities were told last year by the defence ministry's press office that "life is short and your health has too high a price to be endangered by debating highly emotional subjects", there can't be much to choose between it and Turkey.

Ultimately, continued Mr Prodi, the EU should comprise all of geographical Europe. He was excited about the progressive integration of Russia, though as a side comment he felt Belarus, Moldavia and Ukraine weren't up to snuff. It was petty of me, I suppose, to think that he and his commissioners had their hearts set on the siren delights of Moscow rather than Kiev.

Mr Prodi also enthused about nations that were sort of European — but not quite — who would join a "Southern Europe and Mediterranean" category sharing the EU market and customs union but not its parliament. The only country he mentioned by name was the dreaded Israel, but the fate of Turkey was obvious. That's where it may eventually end up, in the sub-sub-European group, a holding pen for all those Muslims and Jews.

-snip-

[quidnunc]

Quote:

It was left to the head of Fox News, Roger Ailes, to get to the key point.

Which led to an amusing comment by Ms. Amiel.

[okie01]

Ailes continued: "The United States has some reservations about organisations the EU gives money to as well as regimes it supports. In Iraq we are trying to build a new government with some democratic standards. Why won't you help us?" he asked. "No, no, no," Prodi said theatrically. "We will not give money when we don't know to whom." Which of course explained the hundreds of millions given to the Palestinian Authority by the EU. They must have known it would end up in Mr Arafat's Swiss bank account. I had fleeting visions of jolly African dictators cashing their Euro-cheques.

It was as if Ailes was setting up Amiel.

At any rate, Amiel correctly concludes two things:

1. Europe is no longer an ally of the U.S. Nor are they even neutral.

2. The UK would be making a terrible mistake to join this assemblage of clowns and charlatans.

[RippleFire]

bump

[republicangel]

ohhhh- I loved the part of Prodi getting pulled out of line for a more extensive search before boarding his flight out of town. hehehe

[Valin]

It appeared that an EU poll, made public that very morning, had named Israel as the greatest danger to world peace — followed by the United States.

This coming from a place that has given the world communism, fascism, the holocaust, the gulag, two world wars, colonialism. They've got some nerve!
Given the combat capability of these two nations the EU better hope they're wrong.