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| Sarkozy attacks federalists in EU | Sarkozy attacks federalists in EU |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| French President Nicolas Sarkozy has criticised European federalists in his final speech to the European Parliament as holder of the EU presidency. | French President Nicolas Sarkozy has criticised European federalists in his final speech to the European Parliament as holder of the EU presidency. |
| "It would be a mistake to want to build Europe against the nation states," he told MEPs, saying he opposed "European fundamentalism". | "It would be a mistake to want to build Europe against the nation states," he told MEPs, saying he opposed "European fundamentalism". |
| Mr Sarkozy also said the EU's legal guarantees to the Irish people would be added to Croatia's EU accession treaty. | Mr Sarkozy also said the EU's legal guarantees to the Irish people would be added to Croatia's EU accession treaty. |
| Croatia will probably join the EU in 2010 or 2011, he said. | Croatia will probably join the EU in 2010 or 2011, he said. |
| At last week's EU summit in Brussels the leaders agreed to give the Republic of Ireland "legal guarantees" on a range of issues, including state neutrality and family rights, in exchange for an Irish pledge to hold a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. | |
| The controversial reform treaty, aimed at adapting EU institutions to the enlarged 27-nation bloc, was rejected by Irish voters in June. The No camp sees the treaty as a way for European federalists to impose their agenda. | |
| The EU has pledged that the treaty will not affect Irish jurisdiction over taxation policy, state neutrality, abortion and the rights of the family - all concerns that figured in the referendum campaign in Ireland. | |
| In return, the Irish government said it would strive to get the treaty ratified by next October. | |
| Treaty 'only one year late' | |
| "When we have the next enlargement of Europe, probably to take in Croatia in 2010 or 2011, we will then need a new treaty to extend the EU to admit the newcomer, " Mr Sarkozy said. | |
| "So what we have proposed is that when this enlargement takes place - and only then - we will add to the Croatia accession treaty the so-called 'Irish protocol' with these guarantees." | |
| The treaty was originally meant to come into force in January 2009, when France hands over the EU presidency to the Czech Republic. | |
| "If things happen as I want them to happen, the Lisbon Treaty will become a reality only one year late," Mr Sarkozy said. | |
| Lisbon's opponents say the treaty differs little from the defunct EU constitution, rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005. | |
| A Green Party MEP, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, lashed out at Mr Sarkozy, saying "no-one here says they want a Europe against the nation states". | |
| He accused Mr Sarkozy of having reduced the role of the European Commission - the EU's executive arm - to that of a "secretariat" for the presidents and prime ministers who form the European Council. |