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| Europe |
| Villepin may be on his way out as French foreign minister |
| 2004-03-31 |
| in favor of a Eurocrat to push the proposed EU Consitution French EU commissioner Michel Barnier may become foreign minister of France following a cabinet reshuffle by Jacques Chirac. According to Commission President Romano Prodi who appears to have jumped the gun and made an announcement before the French government, Mr Barnier will be heading to Paris soon. If the appointment is confirmed, Mr Barnier would replace current foreign minister Dominique de Villepin. Answering questions from MEPs in the European Parliament about his rapidly dwindling Commission, Mr Prodi said, "Quite probably, Pedro Solbes will be responsible for managing the Spanish economy very soon, and very probably Michel Barnier will be responsible for French foreign policy". He added at a press conference afterwards that the news has "not yet been confirmed". He praised Mr Barnier who has been responsible for regional affairs since his appointment to the Commission in 1999 and was the Commission’s representative in the body that drew up the European Constitution. "I will be sad to lose a magnificent colleague". But referring to the specific issue of the European Constitution where crunch talks will take place in June between member states, Mr Prodi said that he was sure the Frenchman would be "an excellent apostle" for the treaty blueprint. If the move is confirmed, it will be part of a series of moves in the current Commission whose mandate finishes in November. Spanish Commissioner Pedro Solbes will return in mid-April to his country to be finance minister, while the Greek Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou has already been replaced and the Luxembourg Commissioner Viviane Reding will stand in the June European elections. On top of all this, Mario Monti, the Italian Commissioner, has been mooted as head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). For his part, Mr Prodi, who has also been making increasingly political statements, reassured MEPs that he would be working right up until 31 October - the last day of his job. It will be interesting to see where Sarkozy ends up in the Cabinet. Chirac reportedly cannot stand him .... |
| Posted by:rkb |
| #11 Fred Pruitt, nine more Americans died today. VISITORS PLEASE NOTE: Delete spaces in censored URL below. http://A DLU SA.com |
| Posted by: Sean TROLL 2004-03-31 8:31:23 PM |
| #10 Sarkozy's new job may be more senior than his old one, but it is also a possible act of sabotage by Chirac. Economic reform is long overdue and the elections showed that the French public doesn't want to face that fact. |
| Posted by: rkb 2004-03-31 2:04:09 PM |
| #9 For the Americans: Interior is the department supervising the police and the part of the secret services deling with counterespionage and terrorism. May God have pity of the French citizens. |
| Posted by: JFM 2004-03-31 12:54:36 PM |
| #8 Correction: Jackal is right. Villepin is moving to Interior. It's Sarkozy who's moving to Finance. Still, it's considered a step up. |
| Posted by: Captain Pedantic 2004-03-31 12:31:07 PM |
| #7 Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, de Vulpine will become Interior Minister |
| Posted by: Jackal 2004-03-31 12:29:22 PM |
| #6 Villepin is being promoted, not punished. The treasruy/finance job he's moving to is more senior than the one he's leaving, I think it's somewhat analagous to Gordon Brown's job in England (but don't quote me on that). |
| Posted by: Captain Pedantic 2004-03-31 12:28:16 PM |
| #5 Jen - *blushing* 8-) |
| Posted by: .com 2004-03-31 12:17:05 PM |
| #4 He can make the talk show circuit. They'll have to hose down Katie Couric after that interview. Better yet, Kerry's VP. |
| Posted by: Henry E. Pankey 2004-03-31 12:15:05 PM |
| #3 Bless you, dotcom! You are so hilarious...ROFLMAO.... |
| Posted by: Jen 2004-03-31 11:26:43 AM |
| #2 So what will de Villepin do? Only his hairdresser knows for sure. Better question: What will we do when he's (he insists he's a man) gone? This guy has been the source of endless amusement for me. *sniff sniff* I'll miss his easily-lampooned vacuous arrogance! Oh well, maybe it is time for a challenge, after all. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-03-31 11:15:44 AM |
| #1 Sarko will be named Minister of Nat. Economy/Finance according to Le Monde |
| Posted by: Michael 2004-03-31 10:58:12 AM |