Leaders blame Blair for EU talks collapse
The summit of EU leaders collapsed in Brussels late last night after Britain used its veto to block a budget deal.
The summit has already sounded the death knell for the EU constitution.
British demands for a €6bn rebate from the European Union was deemed excessive. A last gasp effort by the 10 new EU member states to broker a compromise arrangement proved unsuccessful.
European leaders today angrily turned on Tony Blair as talks to broker a new European budget collapsed in chaos.
French President Jacques Chirac led the recriminations after Mr Blair twice rejected compromise proposals aimed at securing a deal.
Mr Blair however insisted he had no choice as the proposals on offer meant abandoning Britain’s budget rebate without tackling the EU’s bloated farm subsidies.
The bitter fall out left the EU facing its deepest crisis for years, coming just three weeks after the decisive rejection of the new constitutional treaty by French and Dutch voters.
Mr Chirac described Britain’s stance as “pathetic and tragic”. “This will change Europe,” he fumed.
He was joined by Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker who holds the rotating EU presidency and who twice had proposals for a deal rejected by Mr Blair.
“That makes me sad. Especially when all the new member states, even though poorer than the others, were prepared to give up part of their budget. I was ashamed,” he told the end of summit press conference.
Asked how he would hand over the EU presidency to Mr Blair at the end of the month, he replied: “Without comment and without advice – because there is a strong resistance to my advice.”
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said substantial efforts had been made during the 14 hour negotiations to overcome “national egotism”.
With the “blame game” in full swing, British diplomats were clearly relieved that Britain had not been isolated, with Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain and Finland also opposing the deal on offer.
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