British presidency ‘harmful to EU’

BRITAIN will leave a legacy of deep unease in rural Europe following its six months presidency of the EU, an Irish member of the European Parliament predicted yesterday.

Fine Gael MEP Mairéad McGuinness said the intransigence and negative attitude of the presidency has created an unhealthy and unnecessary divide between farmers and non-farmers in rural regions.

She said that by linking a deal on the EU budget to radical reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the British Prime Minister has thrown the EU into chaos and has made the resolution of the EU budget for 2007-2013 even more intractable.