By Hughes Beaudouin - 2nd October 2003
Tensions between Paris and Brussels are set to step up a gear after a close adviser to French premier Jean-Pierre Raffarin told EUpolitix.com the government would not budge on its budget deficit, nor take immediate steps to reclaim an illegal aid package to computer company Bull.
According to a close adviser to French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, ““France has done as much as it can in terms of structural reform.”
“As far as the 2004 budget is concerned, we are not going to propose anything better to the commission,” the Matignon insider added.
The hardline comments come as Paris prepares to send Brussels on Friday its definitive plans for next year’s national budget, in which the European Commission hopes to see signs that the country is taking action to bring its deficit back into line with the Stability and Growth Pact limits.
France’s 2004 budget is expected to show a deficit of 3.6 per cent, in breach of the pact’s rules for a third year running which could trigger EU sanctions.
In the case of Bull, and the commission’s move towards a case at the European Court of Justice for not returning a €450 million aid package deemed in breach of EU state aid rules, the Matignon insider was unequivocal:
“It’s absolutely clear that Bull simply cannot reimburse the €450 million. It would certainly mean bankruptcy for the firm,” the source confided.
“You have to understand that there are 8000 jobs on the line here. For that reason, it is clear that the French government is not going to move right now to ask for the money back. You can’t run a system of state aids without showing some appreciation for the political and economic situation.”
Confirming that EU competition commissioner Mario Monti had shown this regard when examining the rescue plan for French engineering giant Alstom, Raffarin’s services believe the commission should show the same consideration for Bull, the continent’s last truly European IT manufacturer.
Despite the strident line now expected from Raffarin’s office on both issues, the adviser insisted that the confrontations should not be seen as evidence of France eschewing its responsibilities as a founding and leading member of the Union.
“Do we really need to reaffirm France’s commitment to Europe? On all the delicate dossiers, dialogue is daily with Brussels.”
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