Chirac and the French do it again...

[Johnny Punani2]

Chirac-Blair struggle for influence over new Union members is seen

Thomas Fuller International Herald Tribune

Thursday, February 20, 2003

BRUSSELS What began as a dispute between Europe’s hawks and doves on the question of Iraq has devolved into a messy proxy war between Britain and France over who has influence in an enlarged European Union, diplomats and analysts said Wednesday.

A soothing letter by the British prime minister, Tony Blair, to leaders of the East European countries lined up to join the Union has been widely interpreted as an attempt by Britain to cement friendships among the EU’s future members.

The letter was leaked to the media hours after Jacques Chirac, the French president, offended East European leaders by issuing a scalding rebuke of their relatively pro-American leanings.

Although the context of Blair’s letter and Chirac’s outburst was the situation in Iraq, analysts say the subtext was jockeying for power in the new Europe, where the center of gravity will shift sharply eastward.

‘‘This is all about how we relate to each other and not what we think about Iraq,’’ said Steven Everts, a specialist on European politics at the Center for European Reform in London.

France’s Le Figaro newspaper described Blair’s letter as a ‘‘affront’’ to Chirac.

Blair sent his letter to the 10 countries set to join the Union next year as well as the three other official candidates, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.

In it he said he regretted that future members of the Union were not invited to a special EU summit meeting Monday dedicated to the question of Iraq.

‘‘As you know, I had argued that you should be present and able to contribute fully to the debate,’’ Blair said.

It was crucial, Blair continued, that there be no split between Europe and the United States on the issue of Iraq.

‘‘How we in Europe handle this crisis will have profound implications for EU-U.S. relations for generations to come,’’ Blair wrote. ‘‘We must resolve it in a way that strengthens our partnership.’’

Chirac, by contrast, had attempted to bring East European countries to heel with a three-minute tirade Monday after the EU summit. He accused East European leaders who have publicly sided with the United States on the Iraq issue of having ‘‘missed a good opportunity to shut up’’ and called them ‘‘infantile’’ and ‘‘irresponsible.’’

The words shocked East European diplomats, whose most deep-seated fears are that France, where support for enlargement is below 50 percent in opinion polls, could delay or block their entry into the Union.

But, realizing that these comments may have backfired, France sought to play down their importance Wednesday.

Chirac’s spokeswoman, Catherine Colonna, said by telephone from Paris that France was committed to the enlargement of the European Union and wanted to ‘‘avoid any trouble on the road’’ to the historic admission of former Soviet-bloc countries.

Colonna retreated from Chirac’s threat to delay the entry of at least two candidates for membership, Bulgaria and Romania, because of their pro-American leanings. ‘‘We want the enlargement to be a success,’’ she added.

France would ‘‘certainly not’’ delay approval of next year’s scheduled admission of 10 new countries, Colonna said.

Chirac’s harsh words were reported verbatim in newspapers in Warsaw, Budapest, Prague and other eastern capitals.

In Hungary reports of Chirac’s outburst were especially ill-timed, coinciding with the start of an official government campaign to convince voters to say ‘‘yes’’ to joining the European Union in a referendum April 16.

And Bulgaria showed its displeasure by summoning France’s ambassador Wednesday in protest. President Georgi Parvanov told the ambassador that he was concerned about Chirac’s ‘‘emotional statement,’’ according to the Associated Press.

Bulgaria ‘‘insists on mutual respect’’ between members of the European Union and those countries applying to enter, the president told the ambassador, Jean-Loup Kuhn-Delforge.

Analysts say Chirac’s words were miscalculated and had the perverse effect of uniting East European countries against France.

‘‘There’s definitely a feeling in Europe that Chirac disastrously shot himself in the foot with his outburst,’’ said Everts of the Center for European Reform in London. ‘‘France was on a roll and Britain was on the defensive. But Chirac threw it all away.’’

Chirac’s comments were not a slip of the tongue, some diplomats said, but part of a concerted campaign by France to weaken ties between East European countries and the United States — and by extension Britain.

Chirac, by contrast, had attempted to bring East European countries to heel with a three-minute tirade Monday after the EU summit. He accused East European leaders who have publicly sided with the United States on the Iraq issue of having ‘‘missed a good opportunity to shut up’’ and called them ‘‘infantile’’ and ‘‘irresponsible.’’

The French are the biggest F'ing A$$holes I've EVER seen!

[fansince62]

shhhhhh....I hear someone digging his own grave!!!!!

[@DCGoldPants]

imagine if all this happens, there is a war and down the road France is on the ropes asking for money.

I would love whoever is running that admin. to just say "Sorry, we've got our own problems, ask Iraq for help."

[JackC]

Perhaps Chriac should take his own advice and shut up!

[EagleSteve]

Originally posted by JackC

Perhaps Chriac should take his own advice and shut up!

Yes, he missed a good opportunity to just shut up.

[redman]

As someone above said, they're digging their own grave . . . and not being too subtle about it either. It's funny because to be this arrogant, you'd actually have to have some real weight to throw around. But this isn't the France of 200, 100 or even 60 years ago. They're weak and outdated, but they just don't get that yet.

They're chasing allies right into our camp in the international relations arena and if they keep it up, it's going to have economic consequences for them long term.

[Kilmer17]

Im actually suprised by the groundswell of antiFrance opinion in the US. Boycotts are moving past empty threats and actually affecting people.

I dont like many french wines, but I certainly am refraining from ordering/buying it now. As well as cheeses and other French imports.

[redman]

I agree, Kilmer. Americans seem to have taken this for what it is: anti-Americanism as opposed to merely differences of opinion over Iraq.

[JackC]

The French are a short stinky nation of people!