I'll readily admit that Chirac and Schröder have strained that, and Sarkozy made it worse, but both governments stil ltend to work on that basis. Note for instance how Sarkozy's attempt to do the Mediterranean Union thing ended up being folded into a EU process.
For France and Germany, the EU is a fundamental political process; for the UK it's still seen politically as a zero-sum optional game, and a largely trade-centered effort otherwise. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
Note for instance how Sarkozy's attempt to do the Mediterranean Union thing ended up being folded into a EU process.
Germany's participarion in the Mediterranean Union was explicitly to prevent it from doing anything interesting.
I don't recall any mediterranean countries feeling so threatened by the Baltic Cooperation or the Black Sea Synergy to insist on having a seat at the table.
A friggin' disservice to the Mediterranean, Sarkozy and Merkel did. En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma
