DIFFERENT VOICES

Date: 12/12/1996

“During the course of the Dutch presidency, at some stage, the hour of truth will come. Everyone will be asked the question of what sort of Europe we want. Is it this political project that we have joined from the word go, from the Treaty of Rome, or is it just a vast free trade area? That is the choice that will be on the table. That will be the moment of truth at which all governments will have to speak their minds if any agreement is to be found.”

Commission President Jacques Santer responding to a questioner who suggested negotiating a new EU treaty ahead of the forthcoming general election in the UK was a waste of time, given its stance on key issues.

“I am not going to be held to ransom by any single back-bencher on any issue.”

UK Prime Minister John Major vowing to stand firm in the face of increasing threats to his government's survival both from individual MPs with axes to grind and the Eurosceptics.

“Right now, I am in two minds whether to tell him to stuff his government and his party. That is my immediate reaction, but it is not a wise one.”

Eurosceptic Conservative MP Terry Dicks reacting to the UK premier's remarks.

“It mirrors the mediocrity of the negotiations so far ... Do we want to work together in the EU?”

French Foreign Minister Hervé de Charette criticising the draft text drawn up by the Irish presidency to reform the Maastricht Treaty for a lack of ambition.

“The overwhelming view is that we have a good basis for going forward.”

Irish Prime Minister John Bruton, speaking during a visit to Bonn, stressing that most member states had reacted positively to the draft to be presented to this weekend's summit in Dublin.

“I think France is the key. If France is not ready in time, there will be no EMU for a long period.”

French Premier Alain Juppé spelling out what most observers have long acknowledged to be true - that whatever the Maastricht Treaty says, there can be no single currency without the French.

“It is vital that the EU and other developed countries close this credibility gap by setting ambitious and binding reduction targets in Kyoto next year.”

Environment Commissioner Ritt Bjerregaard emphasising that climate change was one of the most serious environmental challenges facing the world today and underlining the need for the Union to take the lead in combating it.