French minister blames British ego for EU crisis

France’s European affairs minister singled out Britain today for causing the collapse of a crucial European Union summit, saying national egos were the main obstacle to surmounting the bloc’s crisis.

“France is not responsible,” Catherine Colonna told France-Inter radio, saying that the failure of the summit was due to the “incapacity of certain countries … to let the collective spirit prevail”.

“Certain countries held onto their national egos,” Colonna said. “Certain countries, notably Great Britain.”

At the two-day summit that ended early yesterday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac argued vehemently over Britain’s budgetary refund and France’s agricultural subsidies.

But at the heart of the dispute that centred on the EU’s future budget was a fundamental difference of vision: Britain believes in an American-style free-market system and is fighting to reform the bloc’s spending, while France is intent on preserving time-honoured social protections.

Colonna said France showed a “collective spirit” throughout the talks and that the summit’s collapse was not because of agricultural subsidies but because of Britain’s rebate – “a rebate agreed to 20 years ago for reasons that no longer exist.”

“I remain completely optimistic for the future of Europe,” she said. “I think it is in a deep crisis that can be surmounted if the European spirit prevails.” And, if “national egos can be transcended”.