"Europe is worried and, worse, I think that our citizens are gradually beginning to wonder whether, ultimately, the national level is better suited to protect them than the European level," the French head of state said.
Sarkozy sets out to "profoundly change" Europe
www.chinaview.cn 2008-07-01 19:48:49 Print
PARIS, July 1 (Xinhua) -- "We must profoundly change the way we are going about reconstructing Europe," which is source of "great concern" for the citizens, President Nicolas Sarkozy has said, urging a shift in the way of tackling pertinent issues.
Speaking late on Monday, only hours before his country officially assumed the six-month European Union presidency, President Sarkozy was quoted as saying: "It is not going well at all."
"Europe is worried and, worse, I think that our citizens are gradually beginning to wonder whether, ultimately, the national level is better suited to protect them than the European level," the French head of state said.
"This is a step backwards and if we are backsliding, there is an error in the manner in which we are going about with the task of building Europe," said the president, arguing: "We must change deeply the manner in which we are undertaking this task."
"I expect Europe to protect Europeans against risks posed by globalization, and this is where things are not working at all," said Sarkozy, before adding: "We must reflect on how to turn Europe into a vehicle to protect Europeans in their daily lives."
"Do not be afraid of the word protection, we need Europe. There are issues that can only be resolved at the level of Europe," said the head of state, who called on Europeans to rally behind their governments in the construction of a viable bloc.
In his remarks, the head of state, who will for the next six months assume the rotating presidency of the European Council, also took time to reassure the French voters, promising: "While dealing with Europe, I will look after your interests."
According to a BVA poll published in the Ouest-France daily on Sunday, nearly one French voter out of three is a little skeptic with regard to European construction.
Buoyed by this "concern" that has often been expressed by French voters, the president vowed to "get a reduction of the level of VAT charged on restaurants" before the French presidency comes to an end.
This is one of the campaign promises that were never kept by his predecessor Jacques Chirac.
During his one-hour interview, the French head of state once again took time to defend his proposal for a European-wide cap on VAT charged on petroleum products, saying that it "would help combat the rising price of a barrel and cushion consumers against negative effects."
"If the price of a barrel has continued to rise in October, what would prevent it from hitting 175, 180, 200 dollars? We will not continue to impose a 20 percent tax," said Sarkozy, recalling that the 27-member bloc had "refused to immediately" accept his proposal.
The proposal to suspend the collection of VAT from a certain price level for oil in order to relieve European households has already been rejected by several EU countries, with Germany being in the lead.
During the last European Council meeting in Brussels on June 20, the 27-member body accepted that the idea of Sarkozy is considered by Europe, along with proposals from other countries, in order to formulate an effective response to soaring oil prices.
In another move, the French head of state announced that he would call on his European partners to reduce VAT on "everything that is environmentally friendly," including High Environmental Quality (HQE) buildings and cleaner cars.
"I want to fight for cleaner taxes in Europe," said the president. "It's not normal that when you buy a clean car, it's more expensive than a polluting one. It's not normal that when you build an energy efficient apartment or house, it ends up costing you more than when you build a house that is not economical."
Turning to the European Central Bank, Sarkozy said: "They should also ask themselves the question of growth rather than limit their actions to just controlling inflation."
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