Prodi attacks veto 'intransigence'

Romano Prodi in attendance at Nice

The president of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, has spoken of his disappointment that member states have maintained their national vetoes on "tax and social issues".

Both were areas under which UK Prime Minister Tony Blair drew non-negotiable "red lines" ahead of the key summit.

Little or no progress was made on tax regulation and social legislation, all sensitive areas in which the summit came up against the intransigence of some member states

Romano Prodi

Mr Blair returned from the tough four-day negotiating session with the 14 other EU heads of government on Monday saying the UK's position had been strengthened as a result of the deal reached at Nice.

But Mr Prodi's remarks will give ammunition to Eurosceptics who say that there is an agenda within the EU for deeper and deeper political intergration.

The commission president issued his indirect attack on Mr Blair while speaking to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday.

He criticised those who had rejected the commission's position that the use of the national veto should be radically reduced at Nice, to streamline decision-making ahead of the EU's enlargement into eastern and southern Europe.

Mr Prodi said he had hoped that Nice would produce a "treaty with added value".

'Lack of understanding'

Weighing up the summit's pros and cons he said the extension of qualified majority voting to about 30 new areas was a "quantitatively important" move, but he added: "Qualitatively, the same cannot be said.

"Little or no progress was made on tax regulation and social legislation, all sensitive areas in which the summit came up against the intransigence of some member states.

"This is something which disappoints me, not just because of the short-term consequences, but because of the attitude behind it shows a lack openness and understanding.

"Anyone who sees Europe merely as a clearing house to approach when necessary and to stay away from when it does not suit them, or when they have already got a great deal from it, is not just making an error of historical analysis, but is cheating future generations."

Mr Prodi also told MEPs that he agreed with French President Jacques Chirac that the summit had not put the interests of Europe ahead of national interests.

"Nice was characterised by the efforts of many to defend their immediate interests, to the detriment of a long-term vision," he said.