EU parliament leader snubs Beijing Games
STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - The head of the European Parliament said he would skip the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics on Wednesday, hours after French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he would attend on behalf of the EU.
The announcement by Sarkozy's office unleashed a storm of criticism in the European assembly, with lawmakers accusing him of letting down European Union efforts to pressure China on civil rights and Tibet.
Hans-Gert Poettering, a close ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, blamed a "lack of progress" in talks between China and representatives of Tibetan leader Dalai Lama for his decision not to travel to China for the August 8 ceremony.
"Given that these talks have to date proved inconclusive, I have decided not to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games," Poettering said in a statement.
Poettering did not refer to the Elysee Palace announcement that Sarkozy would represent the EU there and his spokesman gave no further details. France holds the rotating presidency of the 27-member bloc.
But EU lawmakers slammed Sarkozy's decision, which the French leader announced to Chinese President Hu Jintao at a G8 summit in Japan.
"Europe has capitulated ... Europe should keep Mr Sarkozy away from Beijing," parliament vice-president Edward McMillan-Scott told the assembly in Strasbourg.
Green floor leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit accused Sarkozy of hypocrisy and exposing Europe to "humiliation".
French Europe Minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet defended his president's decision and the EU "should think twice before teaching the rest of the world about morals".
(Writing by Darren Ennis, editing by Mark John)
(For more stories visit our multimedia website "Road to Beijing" here; and see our blog at blogs.reuters.com/china)
