Should we be banning all the Brits from ET on the grounds they're anti-European because they're British?

WTF is that question doing there?

And this is no anti-British bullshit on my part. I think your comment re anti-Brit, and particularly that question, are excessive.

It was a perfectly fair point, made here but also by diplomats and political leaders in several EU countries, that Britain's choosing to be outside core European institutions and opting out of treaty provisions weakened its legitimacy for major power positions. It was one of the clear reasons for rejecting Blair.

There are also, in my view, the perceptions created by the non-stop barrage of English-language media (and power) noise. A nice journalist lady on France Inter this morning explained that Europe was seeking balance by having a Belgian president of Council and a British HRFASP: "one foot this side of the Channel, one foot on the other". That's balance between 27 countries... There's no doubt in my mind that that reaction is conditioned by Britain perpetually making a heck of a lot more noise than its weight.

This said, I'm not rejecting Ashton. She may turn out to be very good. We'll see.