BRUSSELS, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Former French president Valery Giscard d'Estaing Thursday rapped Britain's presidency of the EU, saying it had done little during its first three months.
Giscard d'Estaing, who headed the drafting of the torpedoed European
Constitution, joined the chorus of criticism of London's stewardship of the Union since it took over the rotating EU-presidency in July.
According to the septuagenarian statesman, British Prime Minister Tony Blair had done "practically very little."
Downing Street's relaxed attitude to its six-month presidency has raised concerns in some European capitals that the bloc's constitution will languish and the Union's budget for 2007-13 will not be agreed in time.
EU Budget Commissioner Dalia Grybauskaite Thursday criticized London's decision to scrap budget talks from the agenda of an informal summit of European leaders in October. "How can you talk about the future of Europe without the future of finances for Europe?" she asked.
In its defense, the British presidency says it has directed much of its effort towards developing anti-terrorist measures in the wake of July's London bombings. It also says the up-coming EU accession talks with Turkey have been a major time-consumer.
