We won't shut up, Mr Chirac, says East Europe

Reuters | 2/18/03 | Sean Maguire

[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,

[Freebird Forever]

In the US we can & do exercise the freedom to "vote with our dollars" every day.

Did they forget to teach you that over at DU troll school?

[Menkenspiel]

Chirac threatened these counries. Can you point out where the US has done that?

If only to watch Chirac blow a real gasket, I think somebody needs to float a trial balloon suggesting "new Europe" states consider U.S. statehood as an alternative to EU statehood. Now that would be funny!

[Moby Grape]

You sound like a mindless liberal..."We are NOT a bully for tryin to push ours?"....Do you define being non-partisan as AGREEING with France?..That is the way liberals define it...just agree with them, surrender your principals, and you are now non-partisan in their view...but let's get more to the meat of the matter...We have a dictator who has GASSED his own people to death, including women and children...they dropped where they stood, as he experimented with this weapons, using them for test animals. He has invaded a neighbor attempting to take over Middle East oil, then set the oil fields ablaze has he exited (that should have been enough to trigger the liberal envoirnmentalists to call for his head...never mind those women and children gassed to death, now the low life has killed some birds and put toxic smoke into the air...oh the horror).
It is NOT a matter of forcing our will on the world...we are RIGHT...he is a monster who will kill you and your children if left to it...someone one has to be a leader, and God knows Clinton wasn't...eight years of Clinton and NOTHING done about Saddam....This nation cannot survive if it follows the head-in-sand approach of the UN, France, and Germany.

[taxcontrol]

.....that Paris expects them to show humble gratitude for being granted membership and wants them to accept French primacy in the bloc.

---

Maybe the US should go a court the east european countries. Perhaps offer Poland and other US friendly countries statehood. Doubt they would take us up on it but it sure would put a bee in the bonnet of the French.

Be kinda fun to watch.

[doodad]

welcome to free republic.

[ch.man]

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.

It says a lot about who the french and the people in power in France now really are. Does not bode well for the famous EU constitution.

[Menkenspiel]

Great minds think alike! (see my post above)

[ladtx]

You forgot the < /rant>

Very good response. I agree TOTALLY!

[Mamzelle]

The EU wants Ireland, Ireland is not eager to join the EU. I didn't say Ireland didn't want the Eastern Europeans in. France and Germany and Italy are dying, culturally.
New Europe ought to form its own competing organization and clean up.

[Core_Conservative]

I think you have the accent on the wrong words....LOL

A Frenchmann EXPECTS gratitude....not

A FRENCHMAN expects GRATITUDE?

[MrPeanut]

I think the French President has illustrated how a good idea like the EU is really a bad jumping point back into a Hitlers dream. The future EU is just as dangerous as Iraq is today.

[machman]

Blacque Jacque Shellacque, Chirac in another life....

[ErnBatavia]

There is just something wrong in using the words "French" and "Bully" in the same context...

[taxcontrol]

Yah beat me to it!!

Seriously though, now that I've had more than a second to think about it - I think it would be a good diplomatic move. It would box France and Germany in very nicely. Let's just assume that Poland is offered statehood and accepts. We could then move our troops out of Germany into Poland and take our dollars with us. German economy tanks, Poland starts selling lots of goods to the US and it places a solid foot print on European soil.

France blows a gasket because the would now have to COMPETE for new states in the EU. The anti-US stance would be very much a mill stone around their neck. Diplomaticly, the US shows the world that we reward our friends and punish those that oppose us and smack the crap out of those that attack us.

Such a move would send shock waves not only through the current diplomatic world but would have long term impact as well.

[VeniVidiVici]

why dont you vote with your dollars for a free press .... that might help ya guys out

I'd say that most of us already do.

[Freebird Forever]

why dont you vote with your dollars for a free press .... that might help ya guys out

What's your point, troll?

I can get all the information that google can translate right here on the computer.

[Core_Conservative]

Maybe - since NATO is imploding - we could offer these states a new protectorate - similar in nature to the Warsaw pact - but with Republican Principles! - just a thought!!!

[Clara Lou]

You post some really interesting ones. Bump for later.