Europe on hold until Chirac departs by Yves Clarisse and Paul Taylor
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is waiting increasingly impatiently for the departure of French President Jacques Chirac and hoping his government's "economic patriotism" will not have done too much damage in the meantime. In the European Commission, the European Parliament and among the 25 member governments, officials acknowledge openly that many key decisions on the EU's future direction are on hold until the May 2007 French presidential election.
Chirac has not officially stated he will not run. But attention has focused on Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy or Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin as the candidate of the centre-right. An obvious Socialist contender has not emerged.
No comments:
Post a Comment