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  Sarkozy's Stolen Victories: France Goes It Alone

Sarkozy's Stolen Victories France Goes It Alone

By Romain Leick

Part 2: European Union Sidelined by Deals

Ulrich Kelber, deputy leader of Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) parliamentary group, accused the French president of having taken advantage of the political wrangling over the nurses' release to score major contracts for French companies. The move, Kelber added, is something one would in fact expect from egomaniacal dictators, and "even makes US President George W. Bush seem like a choirboy by comparison." The affair brings to mind the recent dispute between the Germans and the French over the leadership of Airbus' parent company, EADS.

The EU Commission in Brussels felt completely sidelined by the problematic deal. Despite consensus within the EU that its member states should be pursuing a common foreign and security policy, the Commission chose to treat France's agreement to supply Libya with the nuclear power plant as a bilateral arrangement. It was nonetheless telling that Austrian EU Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner, after meeting with Sarkozy, insisted that she accompany Cecilia Sarkozy on her second whirlwind trip to Tripoli. Although once she was there Ferrero-Waldner had little clout.

German junior Foreign Minister Gernot Erler, a Social Democrat, even went so far as to describe Sarkozy's solo venture as a violation of German interests. The nuclear power plant deal is actually to be handled by a subsidiary of Areva, a French nuclear holding company in which German electronics giant Siemens holds a 34 percent stake.

Four years ago Gadhafi agreed to abandon any plans to produce weapons of mass destruction, but suspicions have lingered. It is undoubtedly in Europe's interest to rehabilitate the dictator, who has been blamed for numerous attacks, including the 1986 bombing of Berlin's La Belle nightclub and the explosion of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988. But Libya is still a country that pays little heed to human rights. Which is why it was more than a little strange to see the young French junior minister for human rights, Rama Yade, standing at her boss's side in Tripoli and beaming at the Libyan dictator.

None of this troubles the French president, who appears willing to negotiate with anyone. "If you dare to say that civilian nuclear energy should be reserved for the northern shore of the Mediterranean and that the Arab world is not responsible enough for civilian nuclear energy then you're humiliating them and preparing for a clash of civilizations," Sarkozy said unabashedly. He spoke as if the dispute over Iran's nuclear plans and evidence of Libya's involvement in earlier terrorist attacks had suddenly vanished. And then the French president made himself even more clear: "Libya is a country that has both the means and the need," Sarkozy added, alluding to the fact that the oil-producing North African nation has one of the highest per capita incomes in Africa. But international sanctions imposed on the country up until 2003 have severely restricted the development of Libya's infrastructure.

Since then France had lagged behind both the Germans and the British when it came to investing in Libya, and now Sarkozy wants to make up for lost time. Part of the logic behind his plan is the dream of a "Mediterranean Union" stretching from Morocco to Egypt, with France acting as the link to Europe.

Sarkozy, formerly a successful interior minister, has usually been unrelenting when it comes to fighting terrorism. But now he has proven himself to be the henchman of a despot who converted European hostages into cold cash -- a strategy that is anything but laudable.

The president insists there is absolutely no connection between his visit, the French-Libyan agreements and the release of the Bulgarian nurses and the doctor. But Sarkozy did admit: "I would not have come if they had not been released." In other words, Gadhafi clearly used the prisoners as a bargaining chip.

A Maverick in Europe

Right up until shortly before their departure the Libyan dictator made it clear, both at home abroad, that the prisoners were completely under his control. They were forced to complete a series of inconvenient bureaucrat formalities in the presence of the Bulgarian envoy before being allowed to board their plane. The Libyans demanded that the Palestinian doctor sign a statement indicating which country he wanted to be flown to. Before taking off from Libyan soil the doctor, Ashraf al-Hazouz, said: "You have destroyed my life and the lives of the nurses."

Sarkozy has now pawned his credibility by becoming the partner of an unpredictable ruler, a man with whom the West has never been entirely comfortable. Gadhafi has long been pushing for a key role in a project to establish an "African Union" -- a large, continental federation similar to the EU. Now he has managed to secure the support of Nicolas and Cecilia Sarkozy for his plan.

Sarkozy has only been the new master at the Elysee Palace for just over two months. But even this short amount of time has been enough to reveal that he is a maverick in Europe, a man who seeks to maximize his own advantage without serving the interests of the European Union. Sarkozy unflinchingly champions French interests -- as well as his own -- treating the Franco-German friendship as nothing but outdated, romantic sentimentality. In his mind, only those members of the EU who have amends to make should be asked to make sacrifices.

After his visit to the Libyan capital, Sarkozy flew on to the Senegalese capital Dakar, where he sought to win the support of Africa's youth for a new partnership with Europe and the French mother country. Then he continued to Libreville in Gabon, another former French colony, to campaign for sustainable development. Unlike his predecessor, Jacques Chirac, who maintained good relations with Africa's dictators as long as they professed to a belief in the traditional friendship with France, Sarkozy wanted to introduce moral principles into foreign policy. But despite these seemingly noble visions, it seems Sarkozy is ultimately only interested in oil, natural gas and uranium -- all natural resources which Gadhafi has in abundance. They will come at a high price for Sarkozy: respectability, cash, weapons and nuclear power.

Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan