Shirking the responsibility. The strong attacks of the French socialists against the EU's economic policy and against Berlin (particularly Mrs Merkel) are to be considered as an example of the tendency to blame Europe for national difficulties. It's a well-known tactic - for the political forces in the majority (the socialists in France). If the support of public opinion is fraying because of domestic difficulties, it is hard to resist the temptation of attributing the blame for it to Brussels or Berlin. And if the president of the French republic and the government manage to resist this temptation, it is then the socialist party that has its say. The head of the National Assembly, Claude Bartolone, has used this approach plentifully - while asking people not to confuse friendship with Germany with friendship for Angela Merkel. By contrast, the French government - which participates in the decisions in Brussels and has obtained a relaxation in the timetable for reducing its national budget deficit - remains faithful to the priniciple that the serious nature of the budget is crucial if one wants France to keep its weight in Europe.
Softened text but… The first text developed in Paris by the socialist party has been softened. Yet at the start, the draft - which was summarised by Le Monde - called on people to express their outrage at free trade as the only outlook for foreign relations and at austerity as the standard within our borders, and it attacked the selfish intransigence of Angela Merkel who “only dreams of the savings of depositors over the Rhine, of the trade balance recorded in Berlin, and of her electoral future”. The tone has now been softened - the new draft calls for people “to politically confront the German right” with a view to a change of direction in European policy.
Domestic affair? One could make the observation that this is a Franco-French affair. Yet the repercussions will be European. The critical attitude with regard to the EU - which is accompanied by the demand to protect national industry and to control imports - could arouse the disinterest of the French at the time of the European Parliament elections in 2014, and the protectionist theses - which can't have any effect inside the EU - could strengthen the reluctance of Paris towards the free trade agreement with the United States (a free trade agreement which Europe needs and which all the member states support).
France is right, of course, about the linguistic aspect. Each country must keep the option of deciding for itself how, and to what extent, to use the English language, and to express its opinion on the EU's decisions on this subject. For the other aspects, and the reasons for which the Euro-American agreement is urgent, postive - and even crucial - this column should be consulted in previous editions of EUROPE.
Urgency or not? It must not be forgotten that opinions differ on the urgency and length of the Euro-American negotiations. I have explained in detail the reasons why time is pressing and why the Euro-American negotiations must be concluded before the end of next year. However a few days earlier, the French minister for trade, Ms Nicole Bricq, spoke in Chicago about long and difficult negotiations, and had excluded “everything that concerns defence” (see EUROPE 10833).
Our bulletin n. 10838 published the details of the European Commission's position on state aid for film and audiovisual works, and the details on the negotiations that are under way on this issue with the United States - including the different positions, especially with regard to cinema which represents the lion's share of the aid. By looking at this issue, one understands the French reluctance about future negotiations with the United States on such cultural issues.
In favour of Franco-German cooperation. Germany is making small of the differences with France - Angela Merkel's spokesperson has glided over the critcisms of the French socialists. Yet the German member of parliament, Andreas Schockenhoff - the leader of the French-German friendship group in the Bundestag - has published a press release which states that the unfounded attacks of high level French socialists against the chancellor are uncustomary and inappropriate for the French-German relationship (…) For the good of Europe, France and Germany must work together closely and in great trust. And he welcomed the fact that the French prime minister has apparently rejected violent criticism of Angela Merkel, as the French authorities will have to continue to work with her after the September federal elections in Germany…
This overview might help us understand the European situation in these delicate times.
(FR/transl.fl)