EU:EU PRESIDENT Nicolas Sarkozy has criticised Ireland's bank guarantee and insisted he wants to see "a roadmap" solution to the question of Irish ratification of the Lisbon Treaty by December next.
The French president said the recent crises in the financial markets and in Georgia had shown that "it would be a major mistake not to proceed with institutional reform" since Europe so often needs "a powerful, rapid and united response".
Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg yesterday, Mr Sarkozy said the Irish bank guarantee had led to a situation where money was flowing in and out of countries, depending on which offered the best deal.
He claimed the City of London had been left with no liquidity, as money there sought a better deal in guaranteed banks in Ireland.
It was, he said, a very serious repercussion arising from Ireland's decision.
One of the difficulties with rapid reaction on a pan-European basis was the lack of institutional reform, and the French presidency was therefore seeking a roadmap to finding a solution to the question of Irish ratification of the Lisbon treaty by December.
He did not say whether he believed that meant a date for a new referendum by December, or refer to weekend reports that MEPs wanted Ireland to be put in an "untenable position" by pressing Poland and the Czech Republic to ratify the Lisbon Treaty by the end of the year.
On the financial crisis, he said "Europe must speak with one voice" when it participates in a series of summits between the US, the EU and other world powers from November. What was needed was a "united European response", he noted.
Among ideas he floated were measures to ensure that European companies "are not bought up by non-European capital while their stock exchange values are low", and the creation of sovereign wealth funds by each EU country.
He criticised hedge funds and questioned the competence and independence of ratings agencies, pointing out that the latter were mainly US-based, and that perhaps Europe needed its own ratings agencies.
Referring to Russian action in Georgia as "disproportionate", he stressed it was a "reaction" to a previous "inappropriate" action. The US had thought "dialogue with the Russians is pointless", he said, and cited the Cold War to support his view that this stance was folly.
"Europe does not want another Cold War," he stressed, adding "it is Europe that has brought about peace", and that "it is a long time since Europe has played this sort of role in this kind of conflict".
President of the parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, said that in the recent crises, Europe under President Sarkozy had shown its ability to take co-ordinated, collective action.
Without such action - and without the existence of the euro - "we would have been in a disastrous situation".
Commission president José Manuel Barroso praised Mr Sarkozy's decisive action, saying the handling of the crises had shown him as "dynamic as only he can be".
The feasibility of pan-European financial regulation would be under review, he said, while signalling his forthcoming visit to China for talks.
"The goal should be to devise a system of global financial governance adapted to the challenges of the 21st century - in terms of efficiency, transparency and representation."
For the EPP-ED group, Joseph Daul (France) said President Sarkozy had worked tirelessly and shown the value of the EU presidency.
Socialist group spokesman Martin Schulz (Germany) said he was impressed by the resolute action of both President Sarkozy and Mr Barroso.
However, Nigel Farage (UK) of the Independence and Democracy group said when President Sarkozy went to Georgia, he was not acting for the EU.
"You did it as the president of France," he said.