Story tools

Print this article

Email to a friend

Your feedback

The EU-US summit was a colossal waste of time and money. Only purpose was to soothe egos of unaccountable and unelected eurocrats such as Barroso, Rompuy and Baroness Ashton at taxpayers' expense.

For the first time in a summit, Europeans were represented by three failed politicians who have literally no democratic mandate except for those that of past leaders of various member states most of whom have been sent packing by their respective electorate  But Barroso, Rompuy and our very own Catherine Ashton was there in the Roosevelt Room in the White House representing 500 million people.

Last year, the US President rightly ignored the EU-US summit which ruffled many feathers in Brussels and among those who see a grand vision of Europe - but to most Europeans President Obama was spot on. Today, the summit was supposed to be about various issues covering EU - US trade, international development and cybersecurity.

But as expected, the Americans really wanted to talk about foreign policy and EU debt crisis.  On foreign policy Ashton has now got a few so called embassies and even a European foreign service but despite the rhetoric on having one voice, Hillary Clinton knows that foreign policy is clearly in the hands of the member states.  And often the three big powers in London, Berlin and Paris do not see eye to eye let alone all the 27 member countries.

Some quick examples, the Libyan intervention was proactively supported by the United Kingdom and France but not by Germany. Similarly, on the crucial Unesco vote on Palestine there were many different voices with many different opinions – and yet the European public pays Catherine Ashton a handsome salary to please elitist “clever” people who believe that European integration is a must.

You would have thought the Commission President Barroso who is after all the Cabinet Secretary of the EU to have some influence in resolving the debt crisis.  But Mr. Barroso's delusional statements and power grab for the Commission at the expense of the democratic foundations of Europe has made him at best a side actor and at worst irrelevant.  One does not have to go back too far.  Just go back a few days and remember his disastrous performance at the launch of the proposals for "Stability" bonds.

As he sat across the President of the United States he might have thought he was equal in stature and position with the man opposite - but only he and few other EU elitists would have viewd him that way.

But the parade of the European "leaders" did not stop there. There was a third unelected European leader – the EU Council President – Von Rompuy.   He is often referred to as the President of the European Union. No one voter voted for him and like Catherine Ashton he was not in anyone's top list.   Both of them are sadly the lowest common denominators for their positions.

Von Rompuy, receives a hefty salary and the protocol perks but despite the grandest title he has actually very little influence.  

So what did these leaders accomplish for Europe?  Absolutely nothing but another talk fest. At least this one was expected to be a talk fest.

This was not meant to be a meeting of substance but that off soothing of egos and bigging up the European troika.  The White House press operation, however, made sure it was known that President Obama is in regular contact with his real counterparts such as  Cameron, Merkel, Sarkozy, Donald Tusk and so on. 

Geithner was less polite and he openly lectured the Europeans to basically get on with it and resolve the debt crisis. But the White Hose was the perfect host - it even agreed to a joint statement which said "the EU looks forward to US action on medium term fiscal consolidation."  That must be the joke of the year and embarrasing for all Europeans.  No wonder the markets think Euro zone politicians are out of touch with reality.

This trip and so called summit was a ridiculous waste of valuable tax payer money at a time when Europeans are facing tough austere conditions.  While Europeans are struggling with lower wages and higher inflation and economic insecurities these unaccountable Eurocrats continue with their junkets paid for by taxpayers in all member states of the European Union.

 Europeans deserve better.