THE WORLD needs a strong Europe and that Europe cannot be strong if it is not united, French president Nicolas Sarkozy told the European Parliament yesterday as he reviewed his country's term at the helm of the EU presidency.
In a wide-ranging valedictory address as outgoing EU president, Mr Sarkozy spoke of the convictions around which France had built its six-month presidency, one of which related to the need for a strong Europe. The notion of a strong Europe, he argued, was one that "rejects consensus based on pushing problems to one side". The Europe he envisaged would be built on strong states, Mr Sarkozy said.
"We shall not build Europe without the [nation] states. However European you may be, Europe is not the enemy of nations and the nations are not the enemy of Europe," the French president told MEPs gathered for a plenary session in Strasbourg.
"Europe is strong when it leans on strong and responsible states... The mistake is to believe that we need weak states to build a strong Europe." It is easier, he argued, for Europe to have "big ambitions than small ones, because only big projects have the power to overcome national egos".
With France preparing to hand over the EU presidency to the Czech Republic at the end of the year, Mr Sarkozy described his experience at the helm as a transformative one. "I tried to change Europe, but Europe changed me," he told MEPs.
"I really think that each head of state or government would benefit at some time from this responsibility . . . they would understand that whatever differences we have, there are so many things that bring us together.
"When one has the chance over six months to learn about and to solve the problems of the 27 nations, one gains tolerance, an opening of the spirit and one understands Europe... It is without doubt the best idea invented in the 20th century and which we need now more than ever," he added.
He said unity between member states was crucial in the face of global financial turmoil. "We in Europe want entrepreneurial capitalism, not speculative capitalism," Mr Sarkozy continued. "We have said this with one voice. Our economies and our political cultures are not the same, but we all agreed in the end." He also defended the climate change deal agreed at last week's EU summit, telling MEPs that compromises had been reached on the issue despite "an enormous fight" between member states.
Back home in France: Facing a school reform climbdown
NICOLAS SARKOZY has lost his aura of invincibility after street protests forced him to drop a schools reform plan. The setback may signal a new, more cautious phase in his presidency.
Since taking office in May 2007, Mr Sarkozy has weathered strikes, demonstrations and negative opinion polls without slowing down his ambitious reform programme, so Monday's climbdown came as a surprise.
It put an end to the idea that any reform wanted by this government is irresistible. All forms of opposition, parties, unions, protesters, will feel strengthened by this, political scientist Dominique Reynie said.
With the economic crisis destroying jobs and many French people anxious about their future, Mr Sarkozy decided now was not a good time to risk an escalation of street violence over the plan to change the curriculum for a key year of secondary school.
The climbdown comes at a time when he is facing resistance over other reform plans. He has had to water down a Bill that encourages shops to open on Sundays after fierce opposition from within his own camp in parliament.
- (Reuters)