31/08/2005 1:48:33 pm
Well, if France is a member... Whenever one encounters news about French politics, the enthusiasm by so many countries to join the EU gets harder to understand. The famous quote by Groucho Marx about never to become member of a club that allows members such as him comes to mind. The French government now has a list of companies that foreign companies will be prohibited to buy. A blow to the singe market, of course, and to the possibilites for French companies to get a global outreach, better management and new capital. "To protect the old and prevent the new" seems to be a suitable headline for the policies of Mr De Villepin.

Yet today it was also reported that Croatia will do more to fulfil the EU membership criteria and be able to start negotiations together with Turkey. And soon Bulgaria and Romania - with a flat tax at 16 % - will join. Paradoxically, they have improved their countries to become EU members and when they enter, they are in much better condition than the old members. And that is the promise for Europe?s future - that the good ones willl substantially outnumber the bad ones. And the French counter-productive policies will harm only France.