French presidency of the European Union : was it brilliant, or dangerous ?

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Most French media have praised the French presidency of the European Union. Some observers or European Authorities share this opinion : president Sarkozy’s dynamism and his reactivity during the Georgian crisis or the financial crisis are not questioned. Yet it represented the victory of intergovernmental, even national, perspectives, over the defence of the common general interest. The German population and authorities remain unconvinced by the French head of State’s way. Our main partner does not consider the French attitude so much as a response to the crisis as the will to avoid commitments such as the Stability Pact, for instance. The Commission’s weakening and the European Council’s reassertion in December 2008 of its refusal to deal with the tax matter in Europe, are so many time bombs whose long-term effects may not be judged so positively after all. This presidency may have been brilliant, but it has also been dangerous.