MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Sarkozy: “Something isn't right” with the European Union

President Nicolas Sarkozy

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Monday “something isn't right” with the European Union, as France took over the rotating presidency of the bloc. Speaking on national French TV, Mr Sarkozy warned that Europe's citizens were losing faith in the project.

France set out plans on immigration, the environment, agriculture and defense for its six months at the helm. But correspondents say that grandiose agenda is in doubt because of Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon reform treaty. Taking over the presidency from Slovenia, Mr Sarkozy said his priority would be to get all the other EU states to approve the treaty and then see what could be done. The treaty cannot come into effect until it has been approved by all 27 member states. The document is meant to streamline EU decision-making following enlargement of the bloc. It is also meant to create a new EU president and foreign affairs chief, appointments which France is supposed to oversee at the end of its tenure. But the BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris says last month's Irish rejection of the treaty means once again it is the EU institutional shape - rather than anything it can actually do - that is in the spotlight. Speaking on France 3, Mr Sarkozy said: "Something isn't right. Something isn't right at all." "Europe worries people and, worse than that, I find, little by little our fellow citizens are asking themselves if after all the national level isn't better equipped to protect them than the European level" he added, calling such thinking a "step backward". Mr Sarkozy said: "The first priority is to pinpoint the problem with the Irish voters and to continue to allow other countries to be ratified, especially our Czech friends." Asked if Ireland should vote again, he said: "I don't want to say it like that because it would give the impression of forcing their hand." Mr Sarkozy will travel to Dublin on 11 July to hear Irish voters' concerns first-hand, a day after he presents the priorities of the French EU presidency in an address to the EU parliament in Strasbourg. EU leaders are due to meet in October to hear from Ireland's prime minister on how to move forward after the "No" vote. Mr Sarkozy also said that during France's EU presidency he would work for a Europe-wide cut in value-added tax on restaurant bills and oil to help consumers cope with soaring crude prices. But his call for the EU to cut VAT on fuel has received little support from other member states. French lorry drivers blocked roads around Paris on Monday in protest at rising fuel prices. Mr Sarkozy and Prime Minister Francois Fillon are to kick off the France's stint at the helm of the EU by meeting European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Tuesday afternoon. The Eiffel Tower in Paris was lit up blue with yellow stars, to represent the EU flag, on Monday evening, while a ceremony is to be held later on Tuesday at the Arc de Triomphe in the French capital