Euro-eyebrows raised at Britain's early boast

THE Government yesterday took the rare step of announcing a 45-point list of its achievements during the British EU presidency, intending to show it had kept its promise to give Europe a "fresh start". The diplomatic pat-on-its-own-back, which included job creation and measures to tackle t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Guardian (London)
Main Author STEPHEN BATES IN BRUSSELS MICHAEL WHITE
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London (UK) Guardian News & Media Limited 01.04.1998
Subjects
Monetary unions
UK
United Kingdom
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Summary:THE Government yesterday took the rare step of announcing a 45-point list of its achievements during the British EU presidency, intending to show it had kept its promise to give Europe a "fresh start". The diplomatic pat-on-its-own-back, which included job creation and measures to tackle the millennium bug, improve air quality and improve zoos, came only half-way through Britain's six-month term of office and surprised some Euro-colleagues in Brussels. The tone of Mr Blair's remarks seemed to be directed at sceptical British voters, but the initiative was also heavily trailed in Brussels, where it was greeted with scepticism and some incredulity, since it is almost unheard of for member states to claim triumph half-way through their term in the chair rather than after it.
ISSN:0261-3077