The leader of the Opposition, Mr John Bruton, last night delivered a blistering attack on the dangers of European integration going into reverse, warning that Europe's leaders must face up to the political responsibilities that go with the introduction of the single currency.
The joint letter by the German Chancellor, Dr Helmut Kohl, to the Cardiff summit with France's President Jacques Chirac "displayed a lack of commitment to political union in Europe of worrying proportions", he said. "The vague and subjective notion of `subsidiarity' was used in this letter in an attempt to weaken the political role of federal European institutions like the Commission."
That regrettable trend reflected what he called "Eurominimalism" and was matched by a second worrying trend, he said, "the spreading resistance of many European states to any increase in the European budget. This displays a lack of understanding of the fiscal commitment that is necessary if a single currency is to work".
Mr Bruton was addressing a Brussels meeting of leaders of the Christian Democrats (EPP) in an outspoken and radical speech whose main target was the wavering commitment by Germany to the logic of the European project.
And Mr Bruton implicitly criticised the Germans again for demanding a rebate on their contributions to the EU. Mr Bruton warned against attacks on the role of the Commission and called for a raising of the EU's budget ceiling to allow for the creation of a currency stabilisation fund to protect individual countries against economic shocks. And he repeated his call for the direct election of the President of the Commission as a means of bridging the gap between the Commission and citizens.
