Saturday, July 02, 2005

Extremists win if EU reform fails



Extremist parties on the far right and left will flourish across Europe unless the EU embraces radical reforms to tackle high levels of unemployment, Tony Blair warned yesterday, at the launch of Britain's six-month presidency of the EU.

In a sign of his determination to shake up "Old" Europe's cherished social model, which Britain blames for pushing unemployment up to 20m across the EU, the prime minister will host a special summit to assess its "sustainability". Mr Blair issued a blunt warning of the need to reform what he regards as hidebound labour markets.

To the delight of Downing Street, the European commission president José Manuel Barroso announced that his commission will review the social model ahead of the informal summit in October.

More: The Guardian

- Cartoon by Steve Bell for The Guardian (London)

1 Comments:

At 7:40 am, Blogger EuroYank - Virginia Hoge said...

To a yank it seems like the bureaucrats over here are really lost in the clouds, or playing bed games in their palaces.

The storm clouds are gathering in every country, and the peasants are getting ready to storm the gates.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home