Robin Blair

Tony Blair became a contrary-RobinHood. In his proposal for the EU's seven-year budget he takes from the poor and gives to the rich...
Some say there is the spirit of Kopenhagen. In 2002 the accession countries from central and eastern Europe had to sign an accession traety with unfair conditions. Even though the new members wanted to negotiate, they were told the renegotiations would be totally in vain, they could possibly even lead to a worsening of the conditions!
And now, something similar happens. After the failure of the Council in july, after the French made it clear that refroming of the CAP would be totally unacceptable, and with the British defending their rebate, Tony Blair seems to be ready cutting the cohesion and regional funds aimed mainly to help catching up the new members. The holy cows of the extravagantly expensive agricultural policy, and the British rebate (one of the videst criticised phenomenon in Europe) are untouchables. Soo let's cut the ressources of the poor and the weak!

National selfishness has reached a level that threathens integrity within the EU. This will defenetly lead to a race to the bottom spiral. The Poor will from now on rely more and more on cost-advantages. The only way they can modernize themselves if they give excessive investment subsidies, attracting companies from the rich countries with higher cost level. Less social protection, more deregulation are to come. This will naturally lead to job cuts in the old members, less job security, more public spending, more tensions in budgets, and eventually to the further rise of national selfishness.
To tell the truth I expected more from Blaire. Now he is a fallen politician. He forgot Kissinger's saying:

I have an old-fashioned view that friends ought to be supported.

Mr. Blair forgot his friends. I politics this is the beginning of the end...