The EU Blame Game

With the collapse of the EU summit this week, a somewhat predictable and ugly blame-game has erupted. France and Germany have come out to blame the UK and the Netherlands for the breakdown. It is an unfortunate display of what can only called a “lack of unity” for the Union.

Germany should be careful in it’s communications, and should distance itself from the Franco-German alliance of the past several years. By aligning it’s position with the French, the accurate and understandable complaint by the Germans can only be demeaned.

It is generally ridiculous for Mr. Chirac to deplore the "arrogance of several rich countries" in the talks. Seems a bit like the pot calling the kettle black. According the EU commission, France is a net giver to the union to the tune of 1.9 billion Euros. The Netherlands gives at 2.0 billion Euros and the UK at 2.8 billion Euros. The GDP of France is roughly the same as that of the UK, and roughly 3.5 times larger than that of the Netherlands. You can see the hypocrisy of Mr. Chirac’s perspective.

The problem with Mr. Schroeder’s argument is ONLY that he makes it in concert with his friend from Paris. You see, the GDP of Germany is roughly 1.4 times larger than the GDP of both France and the UK. However, Germany is a net giver to the European Union at a rate of 7.7 billion Euros. Clearly, Germany is getting the shaft with respect to the entire EU budget problem. If Gerhard Schroeder is to make a plea for righting this inequity, and I believe that he should, he should also be making it to Jacques Chirac. He needs to muster enough independence from the Parisian to make his point on his own. As the argument has been made so far, one could not blame the Dutch or British from feeling as though they have been bullied by some sort of pre-planned French-German “cartel.”

Many German newspapers got in line last week to blame the UK for “killing the EU.” Der Spiegel describes the commentary from The Financial Times Deutschland:

"Many people have forgotten that for a long time, Chirac had fought against the idea of holding a referendum in France over the constitution.... Chirac knew that a referendum would not only be a vote on the constitution but also a vote for or against globalization, for or against Poland, for or against the EU and above all: for or against him." The commentator claims that it was only when Blair shocked his own cabinet by announcing that a referendum would be held in Britain that Chirac was forced to follow suit. Blair's aim, the paper says, "was to defuse the Europe issue, always a thorny one in Britain, in the run-up to the election." Although the writer does not explain exactly why Chirac had to copy Blair (after all, Germany didn't), he says that "the (British) Prime Minister cold-heartedly sacrificed the EU constitution project for his own domestic advantage."

As I have indicated, Germany definitely has a valid point when it comes to EU budget discrepancies, but to assess blame in a never-ending outward fashion is unlikely to correct any of it’s ills!