'New Europe' strikes back after vitriolic Chirac attack

Former Eastern Bloc countries of the "new Europe" hit back yesterday at Jacques Chirac, the French President, whose vitriolic attack on them for backing US policy on Iraq has reopened EU divisions.

Leaders of ex-Communist countries, eight of which will join the EU next year, responded with a mixture of anger and disdain after M. Chirac's outburst on Monday, when he said the new European nations were "badly brought up" and ignorant of the dangers of aligning themselves too closely with Washington.

Ion Iliescu, the President of Romania, said that "even M. Chirac should regret such expressions", while Peter Medgyessy, the Hungarian Prime Minister, said he was "too well brought up to respond to comments like that".

M. Chirac made his comments at the end of a summit of EU leaders on Iraq, when he accused applicant counties of "infantile" behaviour, adding that they had "missed a good opportunity to shut up". Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, which are due to join the EU next year, had joined an Anglo-Spanish declaration last month backing Washington's approach to the crisis. A few days later 10 other eastern European nations signed a similar letter, appearing to confirm claims from Donald Rumsfeld, the American Defence Secretary, of a division between the newcomers and "old Europe".

Although M. Chirac is a mercurial and emotional politician, his words are being seen as a shot across the bows of the candidate countries, warning them to tone down support for the US as the Iraq crisis reaches its climax at the United Nations.

The implicit threat is that France might hold a referendum on the accession treaties, which must be ratified before the new states join the EU in 2004. Such a poll would probably reject the applications, blocking enlargement. That move would be the nuclear option for France and provoke a crisis in its relations with the EU.

M. Chirac's intervention has highlighted French fears over the changing political shape of the EU, as it prepares to admit 10 mainly pro-American countries, and has again illustrated the EU's divide on Iraq. The Belgian and German governments were angered by the support of "new" Europe for Washington and Louis Michel, Belgium's Foreign Minister, said the decision to admit the 10 nations might have been different if their actions had been foreseen.

Chris Patten, the European commissioner for external relations, said the new nations were not joining the Warsaw Pact, but "a club for equals and everyone has to be listened to".

Meanwhile Tony Blair wrote to the leaders of the 13 candidate countries expressing "much regret" at their exclusion from Monday's summit. "I much admire the leadership you have shown," he wrote.

In London, Mr Blair said: "I hope that no one is suggesting that they should be anything other than full members of the EU and perfectly entitled to express their views. They have as much right to speak up as Britain or France or any other member of the EU today because they are coming in next year as full members of the EU."

Romania and Bulgaria were singled out by M. Chirac, who said the two countries, which hope to join the EU in 2007, were "particularly irresponsible" to sign the letter because their position is "really delicate".

Mr Iliescu said: "We are living in the 21st century. We have to speak about a democratic family of today's world and not the 19th century when there were people with more rights and people with fewer rights and without the ability to express feeling."

Adrian Nastase, the Romanian Prime Minister, said: "Every time I have a dispute with my wife, I shout at my sons. So the problem of M. Chirac apparently is with the Americans and not with Romania and Bulgaria."

Wlodzimierz Cimoszewick, Foreign Minister of Poland, which is due to join the EU next year, said: "We respect the right of France to express its decisions but we expect the same from their side." He added that "emotions are not the best advisers to politicians".

Mr Medgyessy said M. Chirac had spoken "at the end of a difficult evening", adding: "I understand. These things happen from time to time."