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,
This is getting a little off the subject and I apologize for that but my research uncovered a Paul Harvey article here at FR (I don't have the link offhand) which points out where several nations enacted gun control laws and then followed up with the complete roundup and extermination of millions of people, namely political adversaries.
The bottom line here is that we're going to have to be very careful about who we put into office because people who focus on going after political adversaries tend not to be very good about manintaing a strong program of National Security.
Regards.
I'm already boycotting French products and have been for a couple of months. I've ordered my skin care products from a French company since the mid 80's--they are far superior to anything made here--even the really high end stuff. However, I'm making do with the mostly worthless American made stuff. I am hoping that some American company will get serious about making a quality product soon.
In the meantime, dry, wrinkly skin is a mighty small price to pay for our freedom and the added safety of our troops.
LOL
Please do - if for nothing else than to prove the old "stopped clock" axiom!
"Speak softly and carry a big stick".....Teddy Roosevelt.
"Bluster harshly and pretend you have a stick".....Jacques Chirac.
I am getting the feeling these days that M. Chirac has made a very large error and that the EU will be much weaker than the weenies in Brussels would like.
A sure sign of high stress which means that he's definitely hearing (and cringing from) all the well-deserved anti-french commentary coming from the US and most incisively from FREE REPUBLIC. Just as in the Bush-Gore post election battle, we matter.
Europe is free to be Europe because America continues to be America. The Eastern Europeans learned by harsh experience, the French are in denial and the Germans have forgotten.
Now, begone troll.
That way I use them, and don't pay them. :') Show them what ingratitude feels like.
Perfume is tougher. I looked at my shelf...#5, Oscar, Fracas and Joy. I do like some British single-flowers like lavenders and violets...
Not even close don!
These are free Americans making a free choice not to buy goods from a country, which, while claiming to be an ally, is working to undermine us at every turn. This is NOT a tyrannical, murdering dictator ordering a captive people not to buy goods from a group of people who had done nothing except be Jewish.
If you see a parallel, you need a course in remedial logic.
Stay Safe D1 !
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