Jack Straw says Chirac is “Deluded”
The battle between Blair and Chirac escalates:
Jack Straw launched a withering assault on President Jacques Chirac and his allies last night, saying they were “deluded” if they thought that Britain’s £3 billion budget rebate was the real problem facing Europe.
The Foreign Secretary flew into Luxembourg for a meeting of European foreign ministers, vowing to tell them that plans to increase overall EU spending – while leaving French farm subsidies untouched – were “unfair”, and “wasteful”. …Officials said [Prime Minister Tony Blair] was ready for a fight with Mr Chirac, the French president, over the rebate. They indicated that Mr Blair is prepared to plunge Europe into financial turmoil by threatening to wield his national veto over the next EU budget at a summit in Brussels this week.
