British Prime Minister Tony Blair denounced "reactionary" British Euroskeptics for living in the era of Winston Churchill on Tuesday, as he mounted a passionate defense of the UK's membership of the EU.
Enraged by a UK Independence Party (Ukip) member of the European parliament (MEP), who attacked him for building "new sewers in Budapest," the prime minister let rip during a speech to the European parliament.
"You sit there with our country's flag -- but you do not represent our country's interests," he told Ukip's Nigel Farage, who had criticized a ?183 billion (US$320 million) EU package for eastern Europe.
"This is the year 2005, not 1945. We are not fighting each other any more," Blair said.
To loud cheers, Blair pointed to MEPs from 25 countries who had crowded in to a large committee room to hear his last address as EU president.
"These are our partners, our colleagues, and our future lies in Europe. And when you and your colleagues say, `what do we get for what we contribute to enlargement,' we get a Europe that is unified after years of dictatorships in the east, and we get economic development, and we get a budget which puts for once and for all an end to the need for the rebate. That's what we get, if we have the vision to seize it," Blair said.
Blair's assault came as he defended the EU budget brokered by Britain at last week's summit in Brussels, which sees Britain give up ?7 billion of its rebate during the 2007-2013 period.
There had been speculation that the British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown was unhappy with the deal, but yesterday details emerged of how one of the British Treasury's most senior officials was at the heart of the talks. John Cunliffe, the head of macroeconomic policy and international finance, endorsed the deal negotiated between Blair and French President Jacques Chirac.
"That is within my mandate," Cunliffe told senior British officials in Brussels last Friday.
Cunliffe, who frequently stands in for the chancellor at EU finance ministers' meetings, spoke with such confidence because the Treasury devised the system that will cut the rebate.
Under the deal, non-farming spending in the new member states will be progressively excluded from the current rebate calculations.
No cuts will be made to the rebate until 2009, the likely year of the next general election, handing the chancellor a generous windfall over the next four years.
also see story:
For Blair's likely successor, there's no need for fume
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
‘DISCRIMINATION’: The US Office of Personnel Management ordered that public DEI-focused Web pages be taken down, while training and contracts were canceled US President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday moved to end affirmative action in federal contracting and directed that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) staff be put on paid leave and eventually be laid off. The moves follow an executive order Trump signed on his first day ordering a sweeping dismantling of the federal government’s diversity and inclusion programs. Trump has called the programs “discrimination” and called to restore “merit-based” hiring. The executive order on affirmative action revokes an order issued by former US president Lyndon Johnson, and curtails DEI programs by federal contractors and grant recipients. It is using one of the
RSS