Even Paris is subject to EU laws

The mud-slinging match at the EU summit on France's deportations of Roma conceals a deeper conflict, the business paper Hospodářské noviny suspects: "Are big EU countries entitled to preferential treatment? In Prague everyone can still recall the words of former president Chirac, who said that the Czech Republic [with its approval for the Iraq war] had missed a good opportunity to remain silent. Now we hear French voices in the Roma debate saying no one has the right to preach to France. ... Paris insists on its right to ensure that people obey its laws. For its part the EU Commission has every right to examine whether anyone is being discriminated against in this process. ... The medium and smaller countries should stand by the EU Commission because it is the guardian of the treaties and the regulations agreed on by all parties. This is no abstract discussion. Chirac's France and Schröder's Germany once fended off penalties for their debt policies, and the 27 members are still experiencing the repercussions of that today."

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