"Vini, Vidi, Vichy."
Posted on 02/18/2003 4:20:27 AM PST by kattracks
WARSAW, Feb 18 (Reuters) - East European politicians accused French President Jacques Chirac on Tuesday of bully-boy tactics and rejected his demand to mute their strong backing for U.S. policy on Iraq.
"France has a right to its opinion and Poland has the right to decide what is good for it. France should respect that," Poland's deputy foreign minister Adam Rotfeld told public radio. "I would prefer if he expressed himself more politely."
"That's the way it seems," said Czech deputy foreign minister Alexandr Vondr when asked if Chirac was bullying the future EU countries.
Chirac on Monday lambasted east European states on track to join the European Union, saying they had been ill-behaved in backing Washington's determination to disarm Iraq, by force if necessary, and had missed "a great opportunity to shut up."
France's outburst will underline suspicions among the eight ex-communist states due to join the European Union next year that Paris expects them to show humble gratitude for being granted membership and wants them to accept French primacy in the bloc.
The clash will exacerbate tensions across Europe between France and Germany, which are leading opposition to U.S. policy, and states like Britain, Italy, Spain and the East Europeans who have joined to back Washington's tough stance on Baghdad.
One East European diplomat said Chirac had spoken in a tone that not even the Soviet Union would have used with its Warsaw Pact clients during its 40 year dominance of the region.
Former communist states have long been grateful to Washington for helping them throw off Moscow's dominance and for sponsoring their NATO entry drives. They had no qualms about openly backing the U.S. on Iraq, irritating Paris and Berlin.
MEMBERSHIP RISKS
Politicians said they found it particularly unsettling that France appeared to be threatening candidate states who have yet to receive entry invites and telling members-in-waiting that they were not partners but supplicants still outside the family.
Chirac also suggested enlargement might be delayed if even one of the referendums on EU entry due in candidate states in the coming months were to deliver a "No" vote.
His outburst will give ammunition to EU opponents in eastern Europe who argue they risk surrendering a liberty recently regained from Moscow to a bloc that will ignore their interests.
The candidates were irritated that current EU president Greece refused British and Spanish entreaties to invite them to Monday's EU emergency summit on Iraq, saying it showed they were not being taken seriously by some European states.
They were invited instead to a Tuesday briefing in Brussels, a substitute that many complained showed EU heavyweights France and Germany had not yet taken on board how Europe's centre of gravity will shift when its expands eastwards in 2004.
Bulgaria and Romania were told by Chirac they had put their chances of EU entry in 2007 at risk. Both have offered troops, bases and entry to their air space to the United States and Sofia has used its current Security Council seat to back Washington.
"I am surprised to find a connection being made between positions on Iraq and membership talks with the EU. Entry talks are held under strictly set rules announced in advance," complained European Integration Minister Meglena Kuneva.
Other states complained that Chirac was being unfair in criticising former Warsaw Pact states for a lack of solidarity with Europe when the European Union itself was deeply riven over Iraq.
"The EU candidates had no chance to have the same stance as the EU, because the Union itself had not agreed on a common position until yesterday," said Boris Gandel, Slovak Foreign Ministry spokesman. ((Reporting by Reuters bureau, writing by Sean Maguire,
"Vini, Vidi, Vichy."
Maybe it would make sense in the context of, you know, a snooty French waiter or something.
In the book "John Adams", David McCollough the author tells how the emissary from France is talking to John Adams about helping the US in the revolutionary war and at the same time he is talking to the British behind Adam's back!
Its the French way
Me too. Remember when it seemed there were no other conservatives except maybe Buckley, Kemp and Bennet?
Great point. It is entirely possible that this is an act of sabotage. Of course, if it is, it had better work. Because if it doesn't, France will just have pissed off a whole bunch of new EU members.
So let me the first, J'aucuse Mssr. Chirac. I charge Jacques Chirac with aiding and abeting a mass murderer. He should go on trial at the Hague and share a cell with Milosevic.
Saddam & Chirac (1976)
Hungary also has good wines.
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