Sarkozy media circus overshadowing EU warn MEPs

STRASBOURG – MEPs have called for more attention to be paid to the “crucial issues” of the Slovenian EU presidency and less on the private life of Nicolas Sarkozy.

Parliament’s socialist group leader Martin Schulz has warned that the EU’s current policy debate is being overshadowed by the attention the French president is receiving in the media.

“Three crucial issues are on the table during Slovenia's presidency of the EU Council in the next six months – climate change, the future of Kosovo and ratification of the Lisbon Treaty,” said Schulz.

“We should be giving our full support to the government of Slovenia in dealing with those issues. But instead of the EU focus being on important political challenges, it is on the private life of Sarkozy.

"Sarkozy's private life does not interest me. We had four months with the news full of Cécilia and four months of the news full of Carla. It is laughable.”

Schulz also criticised the French president for attempting to overshadow Slovenia’s presidency role, describing Sarkozy’s recent in-depth overview of France’s priorities in the second half of the year as “premature”

“I am astonished that so little is said about the Slovenian presidency and so much is said about future presidencies,” he said in a press conference on Tuesday.

"It is amazing that Slovenia, one of the new countries that joined the EU in 2004, is now running the presidency. That is a big thing.  We should muster our solidarity to support the Slovene presidency and deal with the next presidency when the time comes."

“They’re just talking about Sarkozy; not even about politics, but about his private life…I don’t care whether he’s married, been married or about to marry…the whole thing is ludicrous.”

However EPP-ED leader Joseph Daul played down the ‘Sarkozy effect’ and said he was convinced that Slovenia would perform well over the next six months

“We are pleased to have Slovenia in the chair and I think that Slovenia will be good in introducing the Balkans to the agenda and in dealing with the situation in Kosovo,” he said.

ALDE leader Graham Watson agreed with Daul’s optimism on Slovenia’s presidency chances, but also echoed Schulz’s concerns over the Sarkozy media circus.

“The best presidencies are those that set out with limited but well-defined ambitions. The ones that set out with great fanfare in advance…promise great things but, in my experience, actually deliver very little,” he said.

“I’m a big fan of Carla Bruni…in fact, two of her songs could have been written for the French presidency of the EU: ‘Je suis l’excessive’ and ‘Le plus beau de cartier”.

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