Sarkozy pulls no punches in EU parliament

STRASBOURG: French president Nicolas Sarkozy has underlined the importance of a new institutional agreement if Europe is to continue its growth towards the Balkans.

“If we want enlargement, we need the Lisbon treaty,” he told MEPs on Thursday. “That is not blackmail, its simple logic.”

Regretting the fact that the 2004 enlargement had not been preceded by deeper reforms of Europe’s institutions, Sarkozy said that he wanted to see Croatia, Serbia and other “resolutely European” countries (a sideswipe at Turkey, perhaps?) become members of the European “family”.

But, he said, that would require a rapid solution to the institutional problem, while at the same time allowing the Irish, whose rejection of the Lisbon treaty plunged the EU into the current crisis, to find some answers to their questions.

Speaking without notes – a prepared speech was distributed to journalists in Strasbourg and immediately recalled when it was understood that the EU president was extemporising – Sarkozy said that the EU was “suffering”.

“There have been easier times for Europe,” he said. “And I understand that a president of the European Council I must speak for everyone when talking about how we move forward.”

He stressed that what Europeans wanted more than anything else from their leaders was to be protected.

“Protection does not mean protectionism,” he stressed. “Protectionism leads nowhere.”

For him, protecting Europeans meant finding an agreement on the ambitious energy and climate change package by the end of the year, to ensure that there was a Europe for future generations.

And protecting Europeans also meant putting in place a common immigration policy that allowed the EU to meet its own needs at the same time as supporting developing nations.

As far as defence was concerned, Sarkozy stressed that his proposals for a common approach were not meant to undermine Nato – “we need both together” – but were meant to help Europe better defend its interests.

But on the issue of agriculture, always a touchy subject for French politicians who count on the votes of Europe’s biggest farming community, Sarkozy stressed that his proposals for maintaining support for European farmers were not designed to benefit simply his electorate.

Instead, he said, European farmers should be allowed to produce more to meet the growing demand for high quality food, and to stop the import of cheaper food produced without necessarily meeting Europe’s tough standards, again protecting Europeans.

Other areas of importance for the French presidency would include some that would normally not be dealt with at the EU level: for example, he said France would push for greater cooperation to combat diseases such as Alzheimer’s and cancer.

Culture, always a key issue for the French, will also feature heavily, he said. “There should not be one global language, one global culture,” he said, calling for support for proposals for reduced VAT on DVDs and music, in line with printed books.

And in a parting shot at his critics, he stressed that “no-one has the right to prevent the debate” on issues such as eurozone interest rates (adding that he was not trying to undermine the independence of the ECB) and on world trade talks, a swipe at British commissioner Peter Mandelson, accused by the French of making too many concessions at the WTO.

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