Blair talks sense: Europe gets angry
13 Jun 2005 by Paul Davies
Nobody likes a bad loser. Unless it's John McEnroe, but then that's just because he's kinda funny and engagingly charismatic.Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schroeder are neither amusing nor charismatic. They are, in fact, about as far removed from amusing and charismatic as it's possible to be. So when they get involved in petty schoolboy whining designed to shift focus away from their own embarrassing situations, it's as tedious as being trapped in a small room with Al Gore. In Eastbourne.
Unhappy and a little perturbed that their daft little constitution was buried by the ungrateful heathens in France and the Netherlands, and equally annoyed that the British Foreign Minister, Jack Straw, couldn't break with the rules of diplomacy and declare the treaty dead—and thus himself a scapegoat—Jacques and Gerhard had to look elsewhere for an attention-diverting affair.
Ever since Margaret Thatcher secured Britain's infamous EU budget rebate back in 1984, the French haven't been best pleased. They were rather hoping to have their gateaux and eat it too.
The rebate exists because France likes to treat her farmers—and their cows for that matter—to five-star luxury. While Europe's peasants scrabble around to make ends meet, French cattle wander down a red carpet towards the Louvre for cheese and wine parties. Mrs Thatcher thought this a bit of a waste of money, so demanded it back. And no one argues with the Iron Lady.
With Mrs Thatcher out of the way, however, attempts have been made to steal back Britain's rebate on a fairly regular basis. And following the ignominious demise of the constitution, the question has popped up again.
The trouble for Jacques & co. is that Tony's having none of it either. It's really rather simple: the rebate exists because the CAP is the most wasteful economic policy ever devised; scrap the CAP and the rebate goes too.
Not to be outdone by such trifling matters as logic, however, M. Chirac tried appealing to stupidity, presumably unaware that Prescott was being kept well away from the whole thing.
M. Chirac called on Britain to make a "gesture", saying, "We are no longer where we were 20 years ago. Britain is much more rich... There are 10 new countries that are poorer, much poorer, and it will not be fair for them to support proportionally more of the burden than Britain," he harped.
Aside from the fact that his English isn't great, the new countries don't support more of the burden than Britain, and won't do so under any circumstances. Mr Blair was said to be impressed by M. Chirac's New Labouresque subverting of the stats before retorting: "Britain has been making a gesture, because over the past ten years, even with the British rebate, we have been making a contribution into Europe 2½ times that of France... without the rebate, it would have been 15 times as much as France. That is our gesture..."
Any sign of a mutual 'gesture' from M. Chirac was less than forthcoming: "We cannot accept any reduction whatsoever of the direct aids to our farmers," he replied.
Some senior figures in Britain are yet hoping that the issue will sit quietly in the background while discussion centres on what to do with the moribund constitution.
That would be an error. The CAP only has a pulse because it's attached to a hospital-full of life-support machines, surrounded by an impenetrable wall of gendarmes and self-interested French politicians. If discussions over the rebate bring EU financial reform to the fore, it would be marvellous. And if they defy tradition and reform the finances with anything resembling competence, they will find it much easier to sell the people of Europe a revised constitution.
Ultimately, the £3bn Britain gets back is small change compared to the annual EU budget of some €100bn. It's only come about again because of the embarrassing self-inflicted crisis of the constitution (why no plan B?) and because the French have to moan about something. It's class-A cowardice.
Gordon Brown claimed that the challenge to the rebate was a result of European leaders trying to "wish away" Europe's real problems. Wish away Jacques, wish away.
Related Articles
Rant: Valéry Giscard d'Estaing's crushing blow
3 Jun 2005
Nein pips Non to post in French EU Referendum31 May 2005
Rant: Spain shows the way22 Feb 2005
European bureaucracy eats child11 Oct 2004
SPECIAL REPORT: Britain capsizes under weight of EU immigration1 May 2004
Calls for referendum on referendum on EU constitution26 Mar 2004
