fdt
06-15-2005, 06:01 PM
Let's recapitulate some events from last few weeks. It was to be beautiful... New Brave Europe under a super-duper constitution. French have started it and they have begun the fade of this idea. They "killed" the Constitution with combined forces of leftist anti-capitalists... and the French nationalistic right. A sick alliance (not first not last in history of mankind) of guys who if left on an small island would fight each other mercilesly to the end... but this one particular time they go hand to hand against common enemy. But it's not commies and other pink/red/green folks I'd like to discuss.
What happened after the vote... Chirac pretended not to get the message of people who in major part blamed him and his policy. He swallowed this insult, and chose to steal some ideas from his enemies. It's again not the first not the last time in history, when threatened at home leader seeks for an external enemy to secure his position. National pride, national interest were to save him... Choice of the external enemy was obvious then. Tony and his island were the natural target. "They are egoistic, they never liked Europe, they always tried to ruin it" ... and they are prepositories of the worst criminal system in history... capitalism. Not mentioning that their blame is that they are succeeding on this "inhuman" road of development. OK then. Here we are France against Britain.... and ... again not the first not the last time when they quarrel, but take a close look at the "casus belli". Chirac says "Give up Your rebate". Doesn't he know that he asks for impossible? That Tony can give him his Cherrie on the top of royal bed, but CAN NOT give up the rebate? It would be stupid to assume that Jacques doesn't know this. So why he did it? He did it to open the conflict based on nationalistic sentiments (or anti-british resentiments... what is the same).... Open without any perspective to gain or close this in any foreseabe future. Tony did the same. He retaliated with the same weapon. He demanded Chirac to give up his fat CAP checks... reaction of Jacques was VERY easy to predict. He simply CAN NOT give up his farmers' checks. Impossible for impossible. 100 years ago wars were begun this way.
In brief. What is that? This is CRISIS. How our European leaders deal with it? They don't, they fuel it up with nationalism. Nationalism that they expect to warm up their sorry asses at home... but they don't want to remember that this is a dangerous game. Nationalism has been used in Europe before as a "cure" for the internal problems. This is a very effective but hard to control tool.
To be fair, I don't claim that Brits and French will start a war or smth... Nah!!! I simply see the disturbing trend of European politics.... fueling up nationalisms for the sake of short term internal political gains. For the time being it's not yet worrying, but in future...? In every European country there is a party or group of people who want to revive this old "modus operandi"... isn't it?
Look at the Schroder's reaction. He speaks to his colleagues politicians.... while he knows that he won't be a Kanzler for long... but for historical reasons he might realize best of all that nationalism is a force hard to tame which has potential to destroy the whole continent... not only few careers in Brussels.
Schroeder warns against 'national egotism' ahead of EU summit
Document Actions 13/06/2005
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder called upon Britain and France on Monday to stop bickering and start compromising over the European Union's spending plans for 2007-13, saying there can be "no space for national egotism" at this week's potentially ugly EU summit in Brussels.
Speaking to reporters alongside Blair, who had flown in from Moscow to discuss next month's Group of Eight summit in Scotland, Schroeder said it would be "a gigantic mistake" to predict the outcome of the Brussels conclave, taking place against the backdrop of the EU's worst ever political crisis.
But, in a clear message to London and Paris, the chancellor said Germany wants to see "a fair compromise" on the EU's spending perspectives -- caught up in a pre-summit, cross-Channel spat over Britain's EU rebate.
Blair stuck to his position -- that the rebate can only be discussed in the context of a wider debate on how the EU spends its money -- ahead of a meeting Tuesday in Paris with French President Jacques Chirac.
In the wake of the French and Dutch rejection of the EU constitution, Schroeder said, "we need to get our act together and strike a fair compromise where everybody needs to chip in".
He said Germany is "ready to move to make things happen" by easing its insistence that increases in EU spending -- 40 percent of which goes to farm subsidies, with France the number one beneficiary -- be capped at one percent.
"I still very much hope that a deal will be struck," he continued. "We are ready to do our bit, and I think there's no place for national egotism of whatever nature."
from
http://www.eubusiness.com/Institutions/050613222354.7swf4l8i
What happened after the vote... Chirac pretended not to get the message of people who in major part blamed him and his policy. He swallowed this insult, and chose to steal some ideas from his enemies. It's again not the first not the last time in history, when threatened at home leader seeks for an external enemy to secure his position. National pride, national interest were to save him... Choice of the external enemy was obvious then. Tony and his island were the natural target. "They are egoistic, they never liked Europe, they always tried to ruin it" ... and they are prepositories of the worst criminal system in history... capitalism. Not mentioning that their blame is that they are succeeding on this "inhuman" road of development. OK then. Here we are France against Britain.... and ... again not the first not the last time when they quarrel, but take a close look at the "casus belli". Chirac says "Give up Your rebate". Doesn't he know that he asks for impossible? That Tony can give him his Cherrie on the top of royal bed, but CAN NOT give up the rebate? It would be stupid to assume that Jacques doesn't know this. So why he did it? He did it to open the conflict based on nationalistic sentiments (or anti-british resentiments... what is the same).... Open without any perspective to gain or close this in any foreseabe future. Tony did the same. He retaliated with the same weapon. He demanded Chirac to give up his fat CAP checks... reaction of Jacques was VERY easy to predict. He simply CAN NOT give up his farmers' checks. Impossible for impossible. 100 years ago wars were begun this way.
In brief. What is that? This is CRISIS. How our European leaders deal with it? They don't, they fuel it up with nationalism. Nationalism that they expect to warm up their sorry asses at home... but they don't want to remember that this is a dangerous game. Nationalism has been used in Europe before as a "cure" for the internal problems. This is a very effective but hard to control tool.
To be fair, I don't claim that Brits and French will start a war or smth... Nah!!! I simply see the disturbing trend of European politics.... fueling up nationalisms for the sake of short term internal political gains. For the time being it's not yet worrying, but in future...? In every European country there is a party or group of people who want to revive this old "modus operandi"... isn't it?
Look at the Schroder's reaction. He speaks to his colleagues politicians.... while he knows that he won't be a Kanzler for long... but for historical reasons he might realize best of all that nationalism is a force hard to tame which has potential to destroy the whole continent... not only few careers in Brussels.
Schroeder warns against 'national egotism' ahead of EU summit
Document Actions 13/06/2005
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder called upon Britain and France on Monday to stop bickering and start compromising over the European Union's spending plans for 2007-13, saying there can be "no space for national egotism" at this week's potentially ugly EU summit in Brussels.
Speaking to reporters alongside Blair, who had flown in from Moscow to discuss next month's Group of Eight summit in Scotland, Schroeder said it would be "a gigantic mistake" to predict the outcome of the Brussels conclave, taking place against the backdrop of the EU's worst ever political crisis.
But, in a clear message to London and Paris, the chancellor said Germany wants to see "a fair compromise" on the EU's spending perspectives -- caught up in a pre-summit, cross-Channel spat over Britain's EU rebate.
Blair stuck to his position -- that the rebate can only be discussed in the context of a wider debate on how the EU spends its money -- ahead of a meeting Tuesday in Paris with French President Jacques Chirac.
In the wake of the French and Dutch rejection of the EU constitution, Schroeder said, "we need to get our act together and strike a fair compromise where everybody needs to chip in".
He said Germany is "ready to move to make things happen" by easing its insistence that increases in EU spending -- 40 percent of which goes to farm subsidies, with France the number one beneficiary -- be capped at one percent.
"I still very much hope that a deal will be struck," he continued. "We are ready to do our bit, and I think there's no place for national egotism of whatever nature."
from
http://www.eubusiness.com/Institutions/050613222354.7swf4l8i