Sunday Herald: European Union solidarity? More and more like every man for himself

Sunday Herald: European Union solidarity? More and more like every man for himself

THE European Union’s 25 foreign ministers will gather in Luxembourg tonight for a “conclave” – in this instance not a dignified meeting of cardinals to elect a Pope, but what is likely to be an explosive encounter to try to reach agreement about the EU’s budget, and Britain’s now infamous �3 billion rebate.

This coming week could be one of the most bruising in EU history. On Monday and Tuesday, the foreign ministers will prepare the ground for the critical summit of EU leaders that starts on Thursday. They are supposed to be “sherpas”, ensuring that the final assault goes smoothly. But with the EU seemingly collapsing around their ears, they’ll be fighting over which route to take and over who’s carrying most baggage.

Tension between Britain and France is at its highest for years. Tony Blair is furious at Jacques Chirac’s attempts to shift the blame for his own failure to sell the EU constitution to the French people on to Blair’s shoulders. The UK last week put plans for its own referendum on the constitution on ice because it had already been rejected in France and the Netherlands, but Chirac is portraying this as British weakness. Not only had Blair scared off French voters by concocting a constitution that smelled of an “Anglo-Saxon” plot against French social values, but now he was prepared to jeopardise Europe’s future by dumping the referendum.