Post by Moses on Oct 20, 2005 16:15:39 GMT -5
Anglophile Sarkozy, associated w/ love of US/Anglo the Market is God policies, has had to make noise as UK negotiates deal which screws Europe:
Sarkozy's 'fool's bargain' criticism deepens French rift with Brussels
>By Martin Arnold in Paris, Alan Beattie in Geneva and Jean Eaglesham in London
>Published: October 20 2005 20:02 | Last updated: October 20 2005 20:02
>>
France's venomous criticism of Peter Mandelson - epitomised in Thursday's tirade by interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy - smacks of panic in Paris that the European Union trade commissioner might actually agree to a global trade deal that would make the government even more unpopular.
Faced with the unappealing prospect of having to veto a deal at the Hong Kong ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation in December or trying to sell unpopular tariff cuts to its powerful farming lobby, France has decided to kick up a fuss early on.
Mr Sarkozy, leader of France's ruling centre-right party and favourite for the 2007 presidential elections, had attacked Mr Mandelson for accepting a "fool's bargain" in his offer to match a US promise to cut farm tariffs and subsidies.
The criticism adds to a deepening crisis of confidence between Paris and Brussels, already weakened by the French rejection of the European constitution in the May referendum.
He wrote in Les Echos newspaper that the US was trying to trick the EU into making "disproportionate efforts against essentially tactical concessions".
While the EU was reforming the Common Agricultural Policy in 2003, he said the US Congress had approved the Farm bill, giving more aid to its farmers.
French intransigence in trade rounds is nothing new. In 1993, Paris held up the previous Uruguay round, over a variety of issues, and similarly challenged the authority of the trade commissioner to make deals on member states' behalf.
Indeed, French foot-stamping could even be a useful negotiating tool for Mr Mandelson as he seeks to extract concessions on liberalising services and trade from trading partners.
But by going so public so close to the crunch ministerial meeting in Hong Kong, France has gone beyond merely tactical objections to a serious weakening of the EU's position, say officials involved in the talks. They say France tried to turn a meeting of EU technical experts in Geneva on Wednesday into a political event. Paris sent much more senior officials than other countries, and attacked the Commission's position.
Mr Sarkozy said the trade commissioner was "endangering the European interests of which he is the guardian", as his proposals would result in the "dismantling" of the CAP and Europe's "renunciation of its status as an agricultural power".
But Thursday's French press was surprisingly unsupportive of efforts to protect what Mr Sarkozy described as "strategic" agriculture sectors, including beef, butter, dairy products, tomatoes and sugar.
"It is not by stubbornly sticking to a defensive tactic, largely inspired by post-referendum internal political considerations, that France will rediscover its role as the motor of Europe," said Le Monde. Le Figaro for its part said a WTO deal would "not be without benefits for European farmers".
French criticism of Mr Mandelson threatens to undermine his credibility at the negotiating table, which could hurt his chances of extracting meaningful concessions from foreign partners if they do not believe he can get his proposed concessions past the French veto.
The UK, holder of the EU presidency, privately thinks France is attempting a high-risk guerrilla warfare tactic. However, London's public stance reflected a need to keep France on board.
"It's important because we need to go further," said Alan Johnson, UK trade and industry secretary. "The EU offer is not going to be the solution and neither is the US offer . . . we have to be ready to know [in Hong Kong] where the negotiating envelope ends - what would be pushing against it and what would be pushing past it."
Asked if France would scupper the EU's negotiating chances, the minister said "no . . . whatever the differences, they want a successful trade round".
>>
>
Find this article at:
news.ft.com/cms/s/b9e67b86-419a-11da-a45d-00000e2511c8,ft_acl=,s01=1.html
Sarkozy's 'fool's bargain' criticism deepens French rift with Brussels
>By Martin Arnold in Paris, Alan Beattie in Geneva and Jean Eaglesham in London
>Published: October 20 2005 20:02 | Last updated: October 20 2005 20:02
>>
France's venomous criticism of Peter Mandelson - epitomised in Thursday's tirade by interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy - smacks of panic in Paris that the European Union trade commissioner might actually agree to a global trade deal that would make the government even more unpopular.
Faced with the unappealing prospect of having to veto a deal at the Hong Kong ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation in December or trying to sell unpopular tariff cuts to its powerful farming lobby, France has decided to kick up a fuss early on.
Mr Sarkozy, leader of France's ruling centre-right party and favourite for the 2007 presidential elections, had attacked Mr Mandelson for accepting a "fool's bargain" in his offer to match a US promise to cut farm tariffs and subsidies.
The criticism adds to a deepening crisis of confidence between Paris and Brussels, already weakened by the French rejection of the European constitution in the May referendum.
He wrote in Les Echos newspaper that the US was trying to trick the EU into making "disproportionate efforts against essentially tactical concessions".
While the EU was reforming the Common Agricultural Policy in 2003, he said the US Congress had approved the Farm bill, giving more aid to its farmers.
French intransigence in trade rounds is nothing new. In 1993, Paris held up the previous Uruguay round, over a variety of issues, and similarly challenged the authority of the trade commissioner to make deals on member states' behalf.
Indeed, French foot-stamping could even be a useful negotiating tool for Mr Mandelson as he seeks to extract concessions on liberalising services and trade from trading partners.
But by going so public so close to the crunch ministerial meeting in Hong Kong, France has gone beyond merely tactical objections to a serious weakening of the EU's position, say officials involved in the talks. They say France tried to turn a meeting of EU technical experts in Geneva on Wednesday into a political event. Paris sent much more senior officials than other countries, and attacked the Commission's position.
Mr Sarkozy said the trade commissioner was "endangering the European interests of which he is the guardian", as his proposals would result in the "dismantling" of the CAP and Europe's "renunciation of its status as an agricultural power".
But Thursday's French press was surprisingly unsupportive of efforts to protect what Mr Sarkozy described as "strategic" agriculture sectors, including beef, butter, dairy products, tomatoes and sugar.
"It is not by stubbornly sticking to a defensive tactic, largely inspired by post-referendum internal political considerations, that France will rediscover its role as the motor of Europe," said Le Monde. Le Figaro for its part said a WTO deal would "not be without benefits for European farmers".
French criticism of Mr Mandelson threatens to undermine his credibility at the negotiating table, which could hurt his chances of extracting meaningful concessions from foreign partners if they do not believe he can get his proposed concessions past the French veto.
The UK, holder of the EU presidency, privately thinks France is attempting a high-risk guerrilla warfare tactic. However, London's public stance reflected a need to keep France on board.
"It's important because we need to go further," said Alan Johnson, UK trade and industry secretary. "The EU offer is not going to be the solution and neither is the US offer . . . we have to be ready to know [in Hong Kong] where the negotiating envelope ends - what would be pushing against it and what would be pushing past it."
Asked if France would scupper the EU's negotiating chances, the minister said "no . . . whatever the differences, they want a successful trade round".
>>
>
Find this article at:
news.ft.com/cms/s/b9e67b86-419a-11da-a45d-00000e2511c8,ft_acl=,s01=1.html