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[marketmaven]

France warns against EU break-up
June 19, 2005 (Frogs Getting Nervous...See ya, Ag Subsidies)
From: Agence France-Presse
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,15663623-1702,00.html

FRENCH European Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna has warned EU countries tempted to go it alone after the latest crisis summit to seek a consensus rather than a break-up of the 25-nation bloc. "We need to think together, but debate openly, in a consensual way and without a break-up, on what we want for Europe in five years, 10 years, 30 or 50 years," Colonna said on France Inter radio.
"We have to define together, and I mean together, all 25, what the Europe of tomorrow could be. All together and not at the will of a few," she said.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair appealed for "a fundamental debate about the future of Europe and its direction" after rejecting a compromise on the bloc's budget for 2007-13 at the summit, which broke down in acrimony. "Britain, which takes over the presidency (of the European Union) from July 1 will have a heavy responsibility to ensure that Europe gets back running after playing a part in the summit's failure," she said.

"One cannot say that (the summit on Thursday and Friday) was a success for anybody, or even a success for the British prime minister. There is no success for anybody when there is a failure for Europe."

She saw the crisis in Europe as "primarily coming from a weakening of the European spirit".

"Some have kept their national egos, while it is only the European spirit that enables one to find the solutions together," she said.