Regards, Ivan
Posted on 06/19/2005 1:49:57 PM PDT by MadIvan
France’s European affairs minister singled out Britain today for causing the collapse of a crucial European Union summit, saying national egos were the main obstacle to surmounting the bloc’s crisis.
“France is not responsible,” Catherine Colonna told France-Inter radio, saying that the failure of the summit was due to the “incapacity of certain countries ... to let the collective spirit prevail.”
“Certain countries held onto their national egos,” Colonna said. “Certain countries, notably Great Britain.”
At the two-day summit that ended early yesterday, Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac argued vehemently over Britain’s budgetary refund and France’s generous agricultural subsidies.
But at the heart of the dispute that centred on the EU’s future budget was a fundamental difference of vision: Britain believes in an American-style free-market system and is fighting to reform the bloc’s spending, while France is intent on preserving time-honoured social protections.
Colonna said France showed a “collective spirit” throughout the talks and that the summit’s collapse was not because of agricultural subsidies but because of Britain’s rebate – “a rebate agreed to 20 years ago for reasons that no longer exist.”
“I remain completely optimistic for the future of Europe,” she said. “I think it is in a deep crisis that can be surmounted if the European spirit prevails.” And, if “national egos can be transcended.”
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
Self-defeating French scapegoating.
Ohhh...I'm loving this.
What! the UK don't want to pick up the tab...?
Cheeky
Pot,... Kettle.
What is the "rebate" that has the French in such a tizzy?
Unbelieveable! It's always someone else's fault isn't it? It's never france's fault. They hog up 40% of the budget and then claim the Brits should contribute to their socialized system.
Mrs. Thatcher got a standing rebate for our contribution to the EU budget. Even with the rebate, we pay 2.5 times more per person into the EU budget than the French.
Regards, Ivan
Talk about chutzpah!
Bring back the freedom fries! I can't believe France rejected further socialism. Hang the frogs!
There's the root cause of all sorts of international situations.
Are you looking for trouble?
Perhaps LaKerry can go over there and minister to him.
We need to stop calling it a rebate and start calling it a subsidy and 'voila', problem solved.
Or the French could commit to tearing up the CAP and starting again and we could have a serious discussion....
and in a related story, Britain blames the national French case of penis envy for their habit of blaming all of their problems on the brits or americans.
Quote of the Day:
"We have been, we are, and I hope we always will be despised in France."
- Arthur Wellsley, the Duke of Wellington
Regards, Ivan
LOL< libs are the same the world over. If they don't get what they want they whine and cry and blame everyone else.
Bunch of freakin' losers, the lot of them.
"Certain countries held onto their national egos"
Yeah, notably les Francais.
The French are almost apoplectic about their "glory" and their "grandeur". It it the French who try to keep their language pure -- forbidding such words as "le week-end" and "le computer". Oui, certain countries do hold onto their national egos.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.