FRANCE:France's European partners are growing impatient with its determination to make the union in its image, writes Lara Marlowein Paris
Today's summit in Brussels is President Jacques Chirac's farewell to the EU, so it was fitting that the dinner for European heads of state and government last night bore the hallmarks of French participation in Europe: grandiloquent speeches and a good fight, in this case over energy policy and transatlantic relations.
The declaration to be made in Berlin on March 25th, the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, was also on last night's agenda. Mr Chirac wants it to be "the occasion for reaching a new consensus on the purpose of the European project". He yearns for Europe to be an economic, industrial and scientific superpower, and he wants it "to preserve our social model".
It is almost two years since France scuppered the constitutional treaty by voting No in a referendum, and other European partners are growing impatient with Paris's determination to make the union in its image.
Even if France obtains 80 per cent of its electricity from nuclear power, other EU countries do not want nuclear energy foisted on them.
Most don't want a ruinous, cradle-to-the-grave welfare state, a confrontational relationship with Washington, "economic governance" of the EU, tax harmonisation, a political role for the European Central Bank, a "core group" or "avant-garde" to drive European policies, or permanent posts for big countries in the EU Commission.
Theses issues resurface regularly, but the sense of exasperation has been aggravated by France's attitude since the 2005 referendum, and by the unpredictability of French policy because of the presidential election campaign.
When Ireland voted down the Treaty of Nice in June 2004, the Dublin government felt a sense of responsibility to set things right.
"The train was ready to move on," recalls an Irish official. "The responsibility was seen as lying with us to find a way to re-vote with a different result." By contrast, France has waited for Europe to find a solution to the imbroglio it created. Nicolas Sarkozy, the right-wing presidential candidate, said recently: "It's not the Dutch and French No to the European constitution that is responsible for the crisis in Europe; it's the crisis in Europe that is responsible for the rejection of the constitution."
"Europe is not the problem. France is not the problem. The problem is the interaction between France and Europe," says an Irish official. The sour grapes created by the French No were evident in January, when both Sarkozy and the opposition socialist party condemned a meeting in Madrid of countries which have ratified the treaty. France could have sent an observer, but declined.
"I want to say how sad I am about the Madrid meeting, where, for the first time since 1945, 18 European countries met to talk about the future of Europe without France," Mr Sarkozy said. The socialist party said that the initiative by Luxembourg and Spain amounted to "considering that countries who rejected the constitutional treaty are no longer legitimate to participate in reflections on the future of the European Union".
Those who attended the Madrid meeting "were fed up with French assertions that the problem is not us, it's everybody else," a European diplomat said. "They were saying: 'We matter too'."
French tetchiness in Europe is part of a wider identity crisis which is fed by fear of globalisation, anxiety over high unemployment and an uncertain future. French politicians do neither themselves nor voters a favour when they say that Europe should solve these problems.
Ireland, Britain and the Scandinavians have shown that it is possible to prosper within the European framework. Germany is pulling out of its difficulties.
These European success stories discredit French demands that Europe stop outsourcing and instead create jobs and economic growth. The poor performer must stop blaming the teacher for its failings.
Angelica Schwall-Düren, a socialist member of the German Bundestag, recently wrote an open letter to French politicians in Le Monde entitled "Your europessimism makes us despair".
"Europe has no more meaning for the vast majority of the French," says Jean-Louis Bianco, campaign director for the socialist candidate, Ségolène Royal. "It disappoints them, seems threatening to them."
Mr Sarkozy, the front-runner in the polls, wants the French parliament to ratify a "simplified treaty" which would enact institutional reforms as early as July.
Ms Royal would retain parts I and II of the treaty (institutional reforms and the charter of fundamental rights) but replace part III (a compilation of previous treaties) with a protocol on "social progress, public services and the environment". She would submit this new treaty to a referendum by the June 2009 European parliamentary elections.
Both candidates have placed themselves in a long tradition of "francocentricity" by giving little thought to the needs and wishes of the 26 other member-states. As the cradle of the fathers of Europe, France seems to feel that it has an historical entitlement to decide for the entire union.
The German presidency is supposed to propose a way forward for the constitutional treaty in June.
Mr Sarkozy's fast-track to institutional reform does not correspond to any European timetable and may not fly with the 18 members who have ratified the entire treaty. Ms Royal's "social protocol" is unlikely to be accepted by states with liberal economic policies.
François Bayrou, the centre-right MEP, who is now running third in the opinion polls, also wants another referendum. The mere possibility of a second French "Non" sends shivers through European leaders, who are torn between wanting France to ratify the treaty and fear of a backlash if it is not seen to be done democratically.
France will hold the EU presidency at a crucial time - the second half of next year. Ms Royal wants Europewide policies on research and development, a goal already enshrined in the Lisbon agenda. Her emphasis on the environment is consensual. Mr Sarkozy has expertise in immigration and security, also of great concern throughout Europe.
If we are lucky, the new French president will understand that just because an idea is French, it's not necessarily a good idea, that there's a place - indeed a need - for French leadership in Europe, but a leadership that knows how to compromise and listen.