France and Germany put a brake on the EU

In the Polish daily Dziennik Gazeta Prawna Andrzej Talaga complains that the big EU states Germany and France are only accepting a further term in office for José Manuel Barroso as EU Commission president provided they can continue to implement strong national policies: "The disputes over the election of the European Commission president have shown that the motor of European integration is sputtering to a halt. France and Germany, formerly the key driving force of the EU, have put on the brakes. It is now time for the smaller countries - including Poland - to pick up the baton and act as the most important Europeans. Today one may ask: is there anything at all that Berlin and Paris have not done to flaut the basic principles of the Community? They support their own economies by violating the Maastricht budget criteria and the principles of the free market. And they are compromising the institutions of the Community."

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