Things not going well in Europe: Sarkozy
Tuesday, 01 Jul 2008 08:38
French president Nicolas Sarkozy claims people are worried about the European Union
On the eve of France taking over the six-month presidency of the
European Union, the country's president Nicolas Sarkozy has said that things are "not going well at all".
In a live televised interview yesterday, Mr Sarkozy said he would look to address people's concerns by pushing for tax breaks on a range of items from petrol to green goods.
"Things are not going well. Things are not going well at all," he said on Monday.
"Europe worries people and, worse than that, I find, little by little our fellow citizens are asking themselves if after all the national level isn't better equipped to protect them than the European level."
The French president's plans to use the coming six months as a model for Europe's effectiveness were dealt a considerable blow last month when Irish voters rejected the Lisbon treaty in a referendum.