Mandelson plays down Sarkozy attack 20/06/2008 - 12:09:59
Peter Mandelson shrugged off a bruising assault from Nicolas Sarkozy over the EU’s Lisbon Treaty crisis today – insisting the French president’s comments had actually been “tactful and diplomatic”.
The European Trade Commissioner played down the spat after Mr Sarkozy explicitly blamed his handling of free trade negotiations for last week’s shock Irish No vote.
Speaking on Sky News, Mr Mandelson pointed out that Mr Sarkozy had been asked during a press conference to hold EU Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso responsible for the setback.
“He tactfully and diplomatically chose to blame me instead. My shoulders are broad enough and my skin is thick enough to take this,” Mr Mandelson said.
The French provided reassurances that Mr Sarkozy “had nothing against me personally”, he added.
The row broke into the open as EU leaders struggled to plot a way forward for the controversial Treaty in the wake of the referendum rejection.
The draft final summit declaration expresses “respect” for the Irish ballot, and effectively kicks the issue into the long grass by giving Dublin until October to come up with fresh ideas.
However, there is disagreement over how strongly the document should encourage member states to press ahead with their own ratification processes.
The UK became the 19th country to pass the Treaty this week, when the EU Amendment Bill completed its passage through Parliament and received Royal Assent.
After tetchy talks with other leaders over dinner last night, Mr Sarkozy effectively ruled out proceeding without the Irish and indicated that he wanted them to hold another referendum.
His swipe at the former UK Northern Ireland Secretary came when he was questioned over whether Mr Barroso was responsible for the rejection. He said issues which contributed included Irish concerns over euthanasia, abortion and the world trade talks – adding bluntly: “Mandelson.”
“A child dies of starvation every 30 seconds and the Commission wanted to reduce European agriculture production by 21% during World Trade Organisation talks,” said Mr Sarkozy. “This was really counter-productive.”
Mr Mandelson insisted it was vital that the EU ``engaged'' with trade negotiations, adding that he had a mandate from all 27 member states and not just France.
British foreign secretary David Miliband leapt to his former colleague’s defence, branding Mr Sarkozy’s intervention in the early hours of the morning “playful”.
“I don’t think that Peter’s turn from being a national figure of blame to being an international one is really fair,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
“I saw Nicolas Sarkozy last night and I think it is fair to say that he was in playful mood, even during the summit. I think he was invited to blame one Commissioner and he blamed another.”
Mr Miliband acknowledged that there were “different views” among EU states about Europe’s response to globalisation, with some countries wanting less exposure to the global market and others – including Britain – pushing for more openness.
He said all EU countries, including France and Germany, had agreed the negotiating position being prosecuted with “real drive and determination” by Mr Mandelson at the WTO.
Mr Miliband insisted demands for a repeat ballot would not be ``bulldozed'' through, saying he wanted the Irish to decide ``what they think is the right thing to do''.
“The absolute guarantee is that unless there is an agreement from all 27 countries to the treaty, it can’t come into force and also a guarantee that any change in the Irish constitution requires the acceptance of the people,” he said.
“If the Irish don’t support the treaty, then it can’t come into force.”
Mr Miliband denied that the summit had become “stuck in a European institutional quagmire”.
The vast majority of its discussions have focused on issues such as oil and food prices, migration and energy, which are more important to the people of Europe than the institutional arrangements addressed in the Lisbon Treaty, he said.
“My diagnosis of the gap that does exist between politicians and people in Europe is that people want to see the EU addressing the big issues,” he said.
“It is right that the Irish Government have time to think about their next move, but it is also right that we don’t lose sight of the big agenda that Europe needs to focus on.”
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Peter Mandelson shrugged off a bruising assault from Nicolas Sarkozy over the EU’s Lisbon Treaty crisis today – insisting the French president’s comments had actually been “tactful and diplomatic”.
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