Former French minister slams 'weak' Europe
Europe is "dominated by the shadow of sovereignty and weakened by its divisions", according to a former French Europe Minister, Pierre Moscovici.
In a hard-hitting contribution in French daily Le Figaro, Mr Moscovici argues that Europe is approaching its greatest challenges - enlargement, the EU budget, a new Commission, the European elections - in a "deplorable position".
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"Europeans are unclear about their common destiny: never has European public opinion been so uneasy, so morose, so uncertain".
Selfish Aznar
Mr Moscovici - a member of the opposition socialist party - says that this weak position has arisen from national self-interest dominating European affairs and deep political divisions over issues such as Iraq.
Singling out former Spanish premier José Maria Aznar for particular criticism, he says that he was the "purest illustration" of the idea of a Europe reduced to national self-interests. Mr Aznar, he says "would always defend Spanish interests without regard to the European construction".
This "selfish attitude", he maintains, spread to the leaders of France and Germany, whose unwillingness to compromise over the Constitution and the euro rules led to accusations of arrogance and suspicions of a directorate.
European paradox
The main problem for Europe and its citizens, according to the former minister, is that its weakness comes at a time when the Union is most important.
This "European paradox", as he calls it, is "becoming unbearable".
"On the one hand, Europe is stalling, is disenchanted even disillusioned. On the other hand, the need for Europe is as powerful as it is unsatisfied".