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May 31, 2005
Is No Vote on EU Treaty a Case of Old Europe vs. New Europe
In a June 1, 2005 report in the New York Times Company-ownedInternatiional Herald Tribune, Judy Dempsey summarizes the positions of some former Eastern bloc nations towards France and Germany. For example, she wrote: The Czechs say some of the older members of the European Union, such as France, fear the loss of their status quo inside the bloc and are taking it out on those Eastern European countries that joined only a year ago.
The Poles say that France is upset because the later entrants, mainly former Communist countries from Eastern Europe, are not willing to accept French leadership inside the bloc and are blaming them for upsetting the old order, largely dominated by France. The Slovaks say they are being used as scapegoats for high unemployment in France and Germany, even though it is France and Germany that have benefited from cheap labor costs in Slovakia, where both countries have invested heavily in the car industry. She said, "The Hungarians say Western Europeans are blaming Eastern Europeans for the no vote against the EU charter but that the reality is that a worn-down political class does not want to face the truth about the need for economic reforms." See "For many EU members, no vote on treaty is case of old vs. new" for more opinion from Eastern European observers.
Posted by Munir Umrani at May 31, 2005 07:54 PM
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