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EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Old Europe clashed with new Europe at the Iraq Summit in Brussels on Monday. In an extraordinary outburst at the end of the meeting French president Jacques Chirac attacked candidate country behaviour for being "irresponsible" towards Iraq.
Speaking of the ten countries (Vilnius Ten) which signed a letter supporting American policy towards Iraq, Mr Chirac said their gesture showed a lack of consideration towards the EU.
"I find that they [showed] frivolous behaviour because entering the EU means minimal consideration for the others," he told the press. "If on the first difficult subject we start asserting our own point of view without regard for others that are integrated in a system we wish to join, then this is irresponsible behaviour…"
He concluded by underlining that these countries missed a good opportunity to keep silent.
Rather keep silent
Mr Chirac made a clear difference between the two European separate letters to support America without being explicit. He spoke only briefly of the first letter signed by five member states and three candidate countries and instigated by the UK’s Tony Blair and Spain’s José María Aznar.
But he was clear about the second letter signed by the Vilnius 10. He spelled out that this had been signed by future member states, candidates due to join in 2007 and countries who have not yet become candidates.
The letter was signed by Slovakia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Romania, Slovenia, Albania, Croatia and Macedonia.
Referring to Romania and Bulgaria – due to join the EU in 2007 - Mr Chirac commented that their situation regarding EU integration was already delicate and that should they have wanted to make their case even worse, they could not have found a better way to do it.
Dangerous initiative
The French president said that the Vilnius 10 had made a dangerous move just now before enlargement knowing that a number of states inside the EU are ratifying the Accession Treaties by public referendum.
Public opinion is already reluctant about the need to enlarge the EU. Evidently, such an action does nothing but reinforce the hostility of public opinion, Mr Chirac added.
On the same subject, German chancellor Gerhard Schröder said that the Vilnius letter was certainly not the best moment in all the EU’s history. But more diplomatically than his French counterpart, he played it down by explaining that all this was in the past now.
With this earful in mind, candidates are now expected in Brussels on Tuesday in order to be briefed about the common EU position reached on Iraq. http://www.euobserver.com/index.phtml?sid=9&aid=9416
Speaking of the ten countries (Vilnius Ten) which signed a letter supporting American policy towards Iraq, Mr Chirac said their gesture showed a lack of consideration towards the EU.
"I find that they [showed] frivolous behaviour because entering the EU means minimal consideration for the others," he told the press. "If on the first difficult subject we start asserting our own point of view without regard for others that are integrated in a system we wish to join, then this is irresponsible behaviour…"
He concluded by underlining that these countries missed a good opportunity to keep silent.
Rather keep silent
Mr Chirac made a clear difference between the two European separate letters to support America without being explicit. He spoke only briefly of the first letter signed by five member states and three candidate countries and instigated by the UK’s Tony Blair and Spain’s José María Aznar.
But he was clear about the second letter signed by the Vilnius 10. He spelled out that this had been signed by future member states, candidates due to join in 2007 and countries who have not yet become candidates.
The letter was signed by Slovakia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Romania, Slovenia, Albania, Croatia and Macedonia.
Referring to Romania and Bulgaria – due to join the EU in 2007 - Mr Chirac commented that their situation regarding EU integration was already delicate and that should they have wanted to make their case even worse, they could not have found a better way to do it.
Dangerous initiative
The French president said that the Vilnius 10 had made a dangerous move just now before enlargement knowing that a number of states inside the EU are ratifying the Accession Treaties by public referendum.
Public opinion is already reluctant about the need to enlarge the EU. Evidently, such an action does nothing but reinforce the hostility of public opinion, Mr Chirac added.
On the same subject, German chancellor Gerhard Schröder said that the Vilnius letter was certainly not the best moment in all the EU’s history. But more diplomatically than his French counterpart, he played it down by explaining that all this was in the past now.
With this earful in mind, candidates are now expected in Brussels on Tuesday in order to be briefed about the common EU position reached on Iraq. http://www.euobserver.com/index.phtml?sid=9&aid=9416
