France did a Zidane to EU, says Barrot

France’s European Commissioner Jacques Barrot has urged the candidates in his country’s presidential elections to stop their "unjustified criticism of Europe" and accused them of "serious economic ignorance".

"I regret that during the electoral campaign a certain number of criticisms of Europe were issued, which are not justified," Barrot told European Voice, less than a month before the first round of presidential elections, planned for 22 April.

Barrot, who is close to outgoing centre-right President Jacques Chirac, insisted that "the future president of France must forget very quickly these electoral speeches".

Both leading candidates, centre-right Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Ségolène Royal, have repeatedly criticised the EU for failing to protect citizens, despite claiming to be pro-European.

"The electoral speeches criticised in particular the euro, as a major cause of inflation. This is indeed a very contestable way of seeing things. The euro has, by contrast, greatly attenuated the rise of industrial prices."

He blamed this unjustified criticism of Europe on the candidates’ "serious economic ignorance", as well as "a bit of populism". "We have an inadequate culture at school, we don’t explain well [the economy]."

"This irritates me, because this is prolonging bad information on Europe dating from the campaign before the referendum on the EU constitution."

Barrot, who is vice-president of the Commission in charge of transport, also accused the French presidential candidates of unjustly attacking the Commission, which they portray as being the defender of an ultra-liberal Europe.

"The Commission is being criticised as if it practised a sort of a competition ideology, while competition is in fact protecting the consumer and the newcomers on the market, the new producers, the small producers."

He criticised the candidates for not presenting the European Union as a solution to many of the current problems of France’s economy and society.

"It is indeed very rare that the candidates cite Europe as a multiplier of chances. They only say that Europe should protect us a bit more but they never see Europe as a springboard for globalisation."

He criticised the notion of "economic patriotism", used by French leaders to argue against foreign takeovers of French companies.

He said: "It is not with economic patriotism that we’ll make Europe strong."

Barrot said that it was this unfair criticism of Europe by France’s leading politicians that prompted him to write his latest book ‘L’Europe n’est pas ce que vous croyez’ [Europe is not what you believe]. The book aims at answering everyday questions about Europe and puts questions on Europe to the candidates.

"The next president of the republic should answer the question whether he wants to make France return to the first line of the European class or whether France will adopt a passive attitude."

Barrot warned that the future French president must expect to be confronted, very quickly, with tough questions from their European partners. "What will you do on the [EU] institutions? What will you do on the European budget? On the areas where we know we need Europe in order to succeed? Energy? Immigration? The fight against organised crime? Defence?"

Barrot said that France had lost influence in the EU after it rejected the EU constitution in a referendum in May 2005, because "it became an unpredictable country".

He compared France’s rejection of the constitutional treaty with French football team captain Zinedine Zidane’s infamous headbutt during last year’s World Cup. "The French did a Zidane to Europe," he said.

Barrot said that France’s position was likely to evolve on the review of the EU budget, which is planned to start next year. France could accept keeping the current level of common agricultural policy "in a budget which augments", which would mean a de facto reduction of farm subsidies.

On the revenue side of the budget, Barrot said that "a fraction from corporate taxes should go to the European budget to finance EU’s coffers".

On the composition of the Commission, which under the Nice treaty has to be trimmed down from 2009, Barrot pointed out that the best solution was to give the president of the Commission the task of nominating his team of commissioners from lists presented by member states. "The president must balance his team so as to get approval" in the European Parliament and Council.

Those member states that do not have a representative in a Commission team should in exchange get their nationals in senior Commission posts, such as directors-general, Barrot said.

France’s European Commissioner Jacques Barrot has urged the candidates in his country’s presidential elections to stop their "unjustified criticism of Europe" and accused them of "serious economic ignorance".