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French President, PM Defend Result of EU Nice Summit
French President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Lionel Jospin Tuesday defended the result of the European Union (EU) summit in Nice, which was widely criticized by the media of France and some other EU countries.
Chirac said that the agreement struck at Nice, which was focused on reforming the EU institutions to prepare for EU enlargement, was "the best agreement possible because of the constraints."
"We are happy to have arrived at an agreement which was impossible to realize three years ago" at the EU Amsterdam summit, Chirac told the Strasbourg-based European Parliament.
He said that there is neither winner nor loser in Nice and EU countries have obtained "the difficult balance between representativeness and efficiency" in future EU institutions.
Chirac said that although the agreement failed to meet all the expectations of the European Parliament, it would give EU "the capacity of act and exist after enlargement" to 14 central and eastern European states.
"I ask you not to under-estimate what has been achieved," he said.
Chirac also stressed that to let smaller EU member countries to continue bringing contributions is "essential" for EU to move forward in its construction.
In a statement made at the French National Assembly, Jospin said that the Nice summit is "an occasion of success which could be missed."
He said that France has found "a fair balance between the its legitimate defense (of national interests) and its resolve to let Europe make a step forward in a realistic way."
The French media have widely criticized the result of the Nice summit, describing it as "being minimal" and "a discount deal."
The media also criticized big powers like France and Germany for making deal at the expense of smaller EU countries like Belgium.
Some political leaders of France have also criticized the Nice agreement because it shows EU member countries regard their national interests as priority rather than proving a spirit of solidarity.
The summit was also criticized for giving Germany more decision making power in the European Parliament.
The leader of the sovereignist party Rally of France Charles Pasqua has called for the holding of a referendum on the Nice agreement, because with it France will give up too much sovereignty.
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