Guess what?...I think somebody is twisting Sarkozy's arm. He started turning red&white in the face.

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France is ready to champion larger EU (No kidding? ; Note by AlphaF)
By Ben Hall in Paris

Published: January 7 2008 18:19 | Last updated: January 7 2008 18:19

France is to become a champion of further enlargement of the European Union, according to the French minister for Europe, in a change of approach likely to ease the accession of new members to the bloc.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Jean-Pierre Jouyet said the French government under Nicolas Sarkozy, the president, had ditched its longstanding scepticism about enlargement and now saw a bigger EU as a stronger force in the world.

Mr Jouyet said there had been a sea change in the government's approach to Europe since French voters rejected the EU constitution in a referendum in 2005.
"We have crossed a very important Rubicon in the last two years in terms of European integration. We used to believe that a federal Europe was necessary for a more deeply integrated union and that enlargement would counter this and prevent Europe from working effectively. We have now overcome this contradiction.

"The thing that has most struck me since I took up this job seven months ago is precisely the capacity of an EU of 27 members, and more one day, to take decisions."

Mr Jouyet said further extending the EU's borders "does not make me worried". France would push for the eventual integration of the Balkan countries, including Serbia, which he described as a "pole of stability" for the region.

However, there are limits to how far Paris wants the EU to grow. Mr Sarkozy opposes Turkish membership of the EU. And Mr Jouyet admitted that "in France we have not done enough to make the case for enlargement".

With France due to take over the EU's rotating six-month presidency in July, Mr Jouyet said his government's ambitions were that "Europe gets moving once again and that France regains its role".

France's priorities are a bigger role for the EU in defence and security, energy and the environment, an EU-wide pact on immigration and integration of foreigners and new regulation of financial markets following the credit squeeze.

Mr Jouyet acknowledged that ratification in the UK parliament of the Lisbon treaty setting new rules for the EU could be difficult. But he warned the UK that it could not expect to negotiate a more advantageous form of membership while keeping its place at the centre of EU decision-making if it failed to ratify the treaty.

Britain had secured all of its demands during the negotiations, including opt-outs in a number of policy areas.

"I think the UK will not see another such opportunity to secure its objectives of taking part in the European adventure, staying at the heart of the EU project and at the same time respecting the peculiarities of British society."

Nor could Britain retreat to a special relationship with the US: unlike in the late 1990s, both France and Germany now saw themselves as "an enthusiastic ally" of Washington, he said.

Mr Jouyet – who served as deputy chief of staff to Lionel Jospin, the former socialist prime minister, and as chief of staff to Jacques Delors, ex-president of the European Commission – is regarded as one of the most effective ministers recruited by Mr Sarkozy from centre and centre-left parties.

The Europe minister has contained his differences with the president on the question of Turkish membership of the EU, which Mr Jouyet supports in principle.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008

Nobody here interested in what Sarkozy thinks?
Well, I can not really blame you for that ! ))))))

I think Sarkosy is more interested in his new girlfriend with the big beetle style sunglasses - don't tell me they are still fashionable!

I don't think, to my knowledge, he has actually said why he does not want Turkey in the EU, but I think he stands pretty much alone in the EU, (except for most Turks)!

Did you know his family is from Turkia?

I think that answers your question. )))))))))))))))

She looks nice...

Some you win, some you lose....the old one looked a bit on the feminist side..)))))))))))))
New one is demure..

You are the second official supporter of my deeply philosophical CAVEMAN Theory..

Thank you very much.

Hungarian-Jewish


Relations between Paris and Tel Aviv have improved significantly under the new French president

French-Israeli bilateral relations have seen several ups and downs. The "golden era" was during the 1950s, when France was a strong ally of Israel, and the main supplier of arms to the Jewish state.

But, under the late president Charles de Gaulle, and in the aftermath of 1967 war, relations between the two countries deteriorated, as De Gaulle imposed an almost complete arms embargo on Israel. So the Jewish state turned to the Unites States.

However, with Nicolas Sarkozy becoming the president of France, French-Israeli ties have seen a phenomenal improvement. Sarkozy has projected himself as Israel's "friend". And the Zionist state promptly branded his election to the presidency as a "turning point" in its troubled relations with Paris.

Both Israel and the US hailed Sarkozy's presidential election victory, especially as he succeeded Jacques Chirac, under whom France was perceived as "a friend of the Arabs".

Sarkozy, who is of Hungarian-Jewish origins, has frequently asserted his deep friendship towards the US. His views are similar to those of the US President George W. Bush, who is totally pro-Israel.

In September 2006, Sarkozy openly said that he is "Israel's friend", and that Israel's security is of paramount importance. "Israel is a democracy that was born in circumstances which we all know [referring to the holocaust]".

He further said that "it is a prime responsibility of all free nations to ensure Israel's survival". But despite his professed friendship with Lebanon, Sarkozy never even alluded to Israel's crimes against the Lebanese people during its war in the summer of 2006.

As for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Sarkozy has often reiterated his full support to "Israel's security", though he - like many other world leaders - also waxes eloquent about "the creation of a Palestinian state in the 1967 border".

A recent example was his surprisingly positive speech during the Paris Donors Conference on December 17.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visited France on October 21, to discuss one of the most important issues for the two states at the moment: Iran's nuclear programme.

Indeed, their stance on this issue is almost identical. France is, in fact, the only EU member state which has called for sanctions against Iran to force it to abandon uranium enrichment, though some of France's European partners, like Italy and Germany (which have major trade interests in Iran) have expressed their reservations about any new possible sanctions against Tehran.

In that sense, Olmert's visit to Paris opened a fresh chapter, with France replacing Britain as Israel's closer ally in Europe. This, given the fact that Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, seeks to distance himself a bit from US policies in the Middle East.

France's change of attitude towards Israel's policies has made its outlook on Arab issues similar to that of the US. Importantly, Olmert's visit to France was covered widely in the French media. The active Jewish lobby in France played its part in highlighting the visit, too.

In Paris, the dominant feeling today is that France has entered a new era, and Sarkozy won't be a Washington lackey, but rather an ally.

At the same time, and rather deceptively, Sarkozy has tried to show that French ties with Arab states too remain important. There have been some token measures, like exchange of visits and France's effort to solve the Lebanese dispute.

However, Sarkozy seems to have discerned that in this American era, Tel Aviv is the gateway to the Middle East.

He seems to have come to the conclusion that any political role in the region is bound only to US positions, and that Europe's role is now limited to providing humanitarian support. For Olmert, his visit to Paris has boosted his sagging political profile.

During this visit, Sarkozy presented Olmert (and Israel) with a precious gift: he declared the annulment of the 60-year-old UN resolution on the Palestinian refugees' right to return home. By so doing, France has basically said that Israel can disregard international resolutions.

Sarkozy said: "I don't back Israel out of personal reasons associated with my Jewish grandfather, but because it has introduced diversity and democracy to the Middle East. The creation of such a state by Jewish refugees was a miracle."

Later, Sarkozy's spokesman said: "Once Israel's security is ensured, a positive response to the Palestinians could be possible." This explicitly means that France supports Israel's policy of making no concessions to the Palestinian National Authority unless its security is guaranteed.

Lucky Israel ! ..
Once you have the brave French on your side, you can challenge the rest of the world ...))))))))))))