Chirac wants a 'pioneer group'

A couple of weeks ago, French President Jacques Chirac suggested that a "pioneer group" should be created in the EU to bring together the "most ambitious member states" to move forward with European construction.

Coming from the president of a country that has roundly rejected the European Constitution pioneered by another Frenchman, Valery Giscard d'Estaing (who personally enjoys our highest regard for his efforts), this is one of the most indecent proposals we have heard so far.

It is not new. Many leading French politicians are hooked on this idea, which earns them nothing but the suspicion and criticism of other member states. This, of course, is beside the point, given that surveys show that the majority of French citizens are unable to comprehend this criticism because, alas, most of them can speak only French.

The proposal would have been much more attractive had it come from that group of countries that ratified the Constitution, though we hastily add that it is a nutty one. Can we then be blamed if we call President Chirac's proposal the product of arrogance or should we out of fear and reverence towards le Roi Soleil call it by some other, kinder name?

President Chirac really has the nerve! Having cast the EU adrift by his inability to convince the French people to vote for the Constitution, he now wants to shipwreck the EU. Every politician has his half-life and President Chirac's passed a few years ago.

France still cannot digest enlargement. Having for a moment put aside the "Polish plumber", they now turn to red herrings. In the meantime, the image of France sinks deeper and deeper.

But assuming that he goes ahead, who would be invited to join President Chirac's inner coterie? We hazard to predict that, in such an event, Malta will definitely never receive an invitation and so would many of the new member states.

There is a kind of French antipathy against Malta which we sense and which we have noted for some time which convinces us that they will not be helpful.

So this is an added reason why we should refuse this latest French gourmet. There are many fools in the world, but we are not ready to count ourselves among their ranks.

Hans-Gert Pöttering, leader of the Christian Democrats and Conservatives in the European Parliament, must have made a gigantic effort to hold back the adjectives in criticising President Chirac's proposal.

Mr Pöttering pointedly observed that the proposal runs the risk of splitting Europe. That is exactly what the French proposal will do; it will pit 'old' against 'new' Europe. We had thought that that unfortunate distinction had been laid to rest. We were wrong.

But who from 'Old Europe' will answer positively to France's senile ravings? The Germans? The Italians? The Spaniards? Who? And will Poland, which rocked communism, allow itself to be ruled by Le Roi Soleil?

President Chirac made another proposal. He wants the Constitution to be cut up and the relevant parts put to work through the existing treaties. Now that is some respect for his fellow Frenchman, M. Giscard d'Estaing.

But what does this right-wing president wish to tell us? That the will of the French and Dutch electorates should be bypassed and overcome by such a petty stratagem? We had thought that such tactics were a thing of the past in Europe. It seems they are not.

What happens to the more important parts of the Constitution, namely the Charter of Human Rights? Does that remain hanging? The Constitution can either be approved as one, or die as one. If this is the way France wants to wriggle out of its uncomfortable position than God save us!

We understand that France and The Netherlands have a problem. But they should be suggesting ways of resolving this impasse and not to override the Convention, which drew up the Constitution, their own voters who voted no and the people of those countries which have so far ratified it. Do they have no respect for the Constitutional autonomy of other states, small and large?

Europe must thank its lucky stars that when such proposals of a 'core Europe' begin to be bandied about, calm and cool headed leaders, such as Mr Pöttering, are around to apply their insights to see through them and criticise them for what they are.

The EU can only progress and European integration can only deepen if it remains inclusive. No member state should be excluded and none should be deprived of the respect it deserves. We should build a culture of mutual tolerance and of 'consociation' if we want to strengthen the bonds of European unity.

This approach of inclusiveness and consociation becomes an even more important goal as the Union grows from 25 to 27 and perhaps even more in the future.