Irish will find Jospin's grand vision too taxing

Dublin is one of several European capitals likely to find fault with the French Prime Minister Mr Lionel Jospin's long-awaited speech on the future of an enlarged Europe.

"Europe needs more economic solidarity," Mr Jospin told cabinet ministers, French parliamentary deputies and journalists assembled at the foreign press centre here yesterday. "We must finally take action to stop any behaviour detrimental to the general European interest."

Without naming Ireland, the French leader then singled out Irish fiscal policy for criticism. "Combating `tax dumping' is one immediate priority," he said. "It is not acceptable for certain member-states to practise unfair tax competition in order to attract international investment and offshore headquarters of European groups. Ultimately, the corporate tax system as a whole will have to be harmonised."

Nor will Mr Jospin's contention that "we now need economic government of the euro zone" assist Mr Tony Blair in convincing Britain to join monetary union. The British tabloids have pilloried French officials for less in the past, and they will have a field day with Mr Jospin's dirigiste [directional] speech, in which he proposed close co-ordination of economic policies within the zone and a "short-term economic action fund" to bail out member-states in difficulty.

"Working conditions must be harmonised upwards," Mr Jospin continued. In other words, France will not lower its salaries, job security and generous benefits, but expects other EU countries to rise to its standards.

"A genuine body of European social law, establishing ambitious common standards, must be put in place. There must be a special focus on the provision of information to employees and their involvement in the life of companies, as well as on layoffs, the struggle against job insecurity and wage policies. We must aim for a European social treaty," the French Prime Minister said.

For the past year, Mr Jospin allowed German leaders and his rival, President Jacques Chirac, to monopolise the debate on Europe. Last month, the German Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schroder, suggested modelling Europe's institutions on those of federal Germany. Mr Schroder's proposals had already been criticised by the French Ministers for European and Foreign Affairs, but yesterday Mr Jospin delivered the final NON.

"For some," the French Prime Minister said in a clear allusion to Mr Schroder, "the term [federation] means a European executive branch deriving its legitimacy solely from the European Parliament . . . In the new entity, today's states would have the status of the lander in Germany and the federal states in the United States.

"France, and indeed other European nations, could not accept that status or that interpretation of `federation'. "

Yet Mr Jospin followed Mr Chirac in supporting a "Federation of Nation States", a concept originated by the former president of the EU Commission, Mr Jacques Delors. Mr Jospin defined it as "a gradual, controlled process of sharing competences or transferring competences to the Union level . . . But inter-governmental cooperation still plays an important role and will remain indispensable," he added.

Mr Schroder's suggestion that the Common Agricultural Policy and EU structural funds be co-financed by beneficiary states was widely viewed in France as a selfish gesture intended to reduce Germany's EU contributions. "We should reject the re-nationalisation of policies which have so far been devised and conducted at Union level," Mr Jospin said.

"It would be odd to suggest taking further steps in the direction of a stronger European integration and then start by moving backwards towards a national focus."

Institutional innovations suggested by Mr Jospin include a "congress" uniting national parliaments with the Strasbourg assembly, and European parliamentary elections combining proportional representation and large regional constituencies in each member-state.

He proposed that the President of the EU Commission be appointed "from the European political group which wins the European elections". The French leader wants the Council of Ministers to be given the right to dissolve the parliament on the proposal of the Commission or member-states.

Despite his eagerness to defend the nation state, Mr Jospin appears willing to relinquish vast amounts of national authority to Brussels by creating a European police force and immigration service and establishing a common European cultural policy to subsidise the arts along the French model.