论英国首相布莱尔出任欧盟轮值主席之表现.docVIP

Tony Blair’s performance as EU president 論英國首相布萊爾出任歐盟輪值主席之表現2006-02-27 / TAIWAN NEWS / Edited by Tina Li/Translated by Steven Marsh編輯李美儀/英文翻譯馬強 Chang Yang-pei University of Cambridge doctorate holder; Member of the Board of Directors of the European Union Study Association – Taiwan (EUSA) 張洋培 英國劍橋大學博士 歐洲聯盟研究協會監事 British Prime Minister Tony Blair served a term as the revolving EU president during the second half of 2005. We could safely say he survived a disaster. The fact that he got out, preserved his position as prime minister and kept the European Union from falling apart was no easy task. 英國首相布萊爾於二○○五年之下半年，出任歐盟輪值主席。他的表現，用四個字可以形容：「劫後餘生」。他能全身而退，保住首相大位，並維繫住歐盟於不墜，可真不簡單。 Member nations take turns serving the EU presidency every six months, adopting a “troika” policy that alternates between large and smaller member states in order to protect the rights of the smaller ones while maintaining the interests of larger ones. 歐盟輪值主席，素來每六個月更換一次，採取的是大國小國輪流承擔大任的「三頭馬車」政策，以保護小國權利，並維護大國利益。 Unfortunately when Blair took over the presidency on last July 1, France and the Netherlands had just vetoed the EU draft constitution. The twenty-five member nations of the EU then degenerated into chaos and mutual accusation. Even more unfortunate were the terror attacks on the London underground in the beginning of July right after Blair took over the presidency. It was the most horrific attack on a mass transit system in Europe since the Madrid bombings in 2004. 不巧的是，輪到布萊爾於七月一日出任輪值主席之時，法國及荷蘭正好否決歐盟憲法草案。歐盟二十五國一時陷入分崩離析，交相指責的窘境。更不幸的是，七月上旬，英國倫敦地鐵遭到恐怖攻擊，這是繼西班牙火車爆炸案後，最嚴重的一次事件，全歐震盪，人心不安。 When the news reached Taiwan, British Trade and Cultural Office in Taiwan Director Derek Marsh was holding a cocktail party at a Taipei hotel to celebrate the 2005 EU presidency. The cocktail party soon became a press conference for the London bombings, as many local reporters surrounded Marsh to get his assessment of the situation. He handled the questions well, saying that the situation in London was under