Kennedy: UK presidency of the EU has been disfigured by too much spin and poor tactics

2.15.00pm GMT Tue 20th Dec 2005

Commenting on the conclusion of the British Presidency of the EU, Charles Kennedy said:

"The UK Presidency of the EU has been disfigured by too much spin and poor tactics. If only Tony Blair could close the gap between his rhetoric and his actions in Europe, he'd be in a much stronger position both in the EU and at home. He has mismanaged expectations.

"The Prime Minister lacked a long term strategy for budget negotiations. If he had had one he could have secured a more principled and sustainable deal. In the event, he's finalised a deal from a position of weakness, a deal which itself will have to be unpicked before too long. This is a short term fix, not a long term solution.

"There has been little progress on moving the green agenda forward. There is no sign of any serious effort, for example, to get agreements about European aviation - aviation being the single biggest contributor to carbon emissions. Europe is a very logical place to pursue the green agenda, but the UK Presidency failed to capitalise on this.

"The Prime Minister talked about "reconnecting Europe to the people". What evidence is there that this has in any way been achieved? Without any courage or principle on the issue at home, it was always unrealistic to imagine he could be anything other than inconsistent in Europe."