BRUSSELS, June 18: German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Saturday blamed the failure of EU budget talks squarely on Britain and the Netherlands, as acrimonious fingerpointing erupted even before the crisis-shrouded summit closed.
“With the goodwill of everyone, I believe a deal would have been possible,” Mr Schroeder told a news briefing after EU leaders failed to agree on the bloc’s 2007-2013 budget, bringing to an end a disastrous two-day summit.
“We have not succeeded in reaching agreement, even though a deal would have sent an important signal regarding the ability of the EU to act,” the German leader said.
But the fact that there was no deal ‘is due solely to the completely inflexible stance of the British and the Dutch’, he complained.
And he continued: “It’s not a good day” for Europe. “A piece has been lost from Europe as a political union. That makes me sad.”
Mr Schroeder was not the only one to immediately point blame at other EU leaders.
French President Jacques Chirac also slammed Britain, deploring that Britain wanted to ‘keep the entirety of its cheque’. He also criticized the ‘selfishness’ of two or three countries, which he did not name.
It was the British stance in particular that had riled Mr Schroeder, he said.
“Britain in particular had not been prepared to compromise on its budget rebate,” Mr Schroeder complained.
“With this, Britain refused to make its contribution to enlargement. That’s regrettable,” the German leader continued.
“With the position of the Netherlands, and particularly of Britain, Europe has not emerged a winner. And that’s putting it very carefully.”
British Prime Minister Tony Blair denied that his government was isolated from its EU partners, saying: “We were not alone at the (summit) table.”
“I think people know exactly what the issues are here and I don’t think they are fooled by the tactics and the manoeuvres,” he said.
Mr Juncker had ‘tried everything’ to reach a deal, Mr Schroeder said.—AFP
