British Embassador joked about Poland

[Jaga]

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland wondered whether to be outraged or amused on Monday over leaked remarks by Britain's ambassador to Warsaw, ridiculing the Polish government's stance on the European Union budget.

A tongue-in-cheek e-mail sent by Ambassador Charles Crawford to senior British officials was published by the Sunday Times, just days before Prime Minister Tony Blair faces a tough task of selling his budget compromise at an EU summit.

In the e-mail, Crawford uses blunt language to mock EU critics of Blair's budget proposals, at one point calling his host country "rude and ungrateful" and making a passionate argument for Blair to stick to his guns.

His remarks became top news for Polish media, sensitive to any whiff of what they see as the West's patronising attitude to Poland, and sparked criticism from the ruling conservatives.

"The letter astonishes with its undiplomatic language," said Adam Bielan, a spokesman for the ruling Law and Justice party. "It is a very mean comment."

Leading newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza splashed "ambassador joker" on its front page and another newspaper headline read "British ambassador ridicules Poles".

The Foreign Ministry summoned Crawford for talks but its spokesman said Poland was ready to accept his explanation that the e-mail was just a joke.

"We have asked the ambassador to visit the Foreign Ministry to discuss the differences between the British and Polish sense of humour," Pawel Dobrowolski said.

Poland is among the most vocal critics of the British budget proposals, the first of which would have cut aid to the newcomers by 14 billion euros in 2007-13.

The British proposals have also come under fire from the EU's executive Commission and a number of other countries, including France.

In his e-mail, Crawford said he had a script for Blair when he addresses fellow EU leaders at the Brussels summit about the French refusal to reform the bloc's Common Agricultural Policy, which gobbles up 40 percent of the EU's budget.

He urges Blair to call CAP "the most stupid, immoral state-subsidised policy in human history, give or take Communism".

He said the EU newcomers were ungrateful and rude for not backing Britain even though unlike France and Germany it opened up its labour market right from the start of their EU membership, allowing thousands of Poles and others to find work.

"Her Majesty's Government created more jobs for Poles in the past year than the Polish government," he said. "So much for (European) solidarity."

today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-12-12T165648Z_01_MCC260644_RTRUKOC_0_UK-POLAND-BRITAIN.xml&archived=False

[Jaga]

Here is another view of the story:
Crikey! FO speaks truth about Europe
David Cracknell, Political Editor



A SENIOR British ambassador has lambasted our European Union partners in undiplomatic language, blaming them for farm subsidies that “bloat” rich French landowners, “pump up food prices” and create poverty in Africa.
In an e-mail to colleagues seen by The Sunday Times, Charles Crawford, the ambassador to Poland, mocks “mon ami” Jacques Chirac and the Poles for selfishly blocking Tony Blair’s attempts to secure a face-saving deal on the European budget.



His sardonic tone will embarrass Blair as he seeks to reach agreement this week at a key summit. Some will see his exasperation as revealing what ministers privately think.

Crawford says that Britain has created more jobs for Poles in Britain than the Polish government since EU membership was extended to another 10 countries last year. He visualises Blair or Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, telling the new member states that the UK wants to help them, despite their “rudeness and ingratitude”.

“We like you so much that we are proposing in the budget a huge new transfer of funds to you on a scale which will give your people the greatest boost in 1,000 years.”

In a jibe at David Cameron, the new Conservative leader, the ambassador imagines Blair or Straw saying: “I will be attacked by my scary new teenage Tory opposition for building roads and hospitals in Poland and Hungary, rather than in poor areas of the UK.”

...

Much of it represents Crawford’s blackly humorous opinions on what Blair should tell other European ministers. He suggests putting a children’s alarm clock on the conference table and giving delegates an hour to accept Britain’s offer.

If it is not accepted, he suggested, Britain would be able to walk away with its rebate intact. It would then be able to use money that it was prepared to deduct from its rebate to fund projects directly in former eastern bloc countries.

Crawford estimates that it would be equivalent to twice as much spent through the EU and that Britain’s help would go much further, faster and more efficiently to the countries concerned. There will not be the loss of money in “all the bollocky EU bureaucracy” and “sticky transaction costs, local and Brussels corruption, overheads and other rubbish”.

Crawford describes the common agricultural policy (CAP) as “the most stupid, immoral state-subsidised policy in human history, give or take communism”.

www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1920117,00.html

[nancy]

forza gave a little hint about this event a couple of days ago, so I have been following this story (nice link from the newsfeed on our home page on the Polish culture website www.culture.polishsite.us )

The Poles will have to accept this as a "joke" in bad taste, but I hope they make the rest of his stay in Warszawa very unpleasant.

I wonder if Leslie will come around to defend this bloke.

[forza]

news.ft.com/cms/s/99a18b56-6c45-11da-bb53-0000779e2340.html

Financial Times has made satirical commentary to leaked email.


FT tends to block access to their stories after few day so here's the whole story from FT:

A satirical comment by Roger Blitz in FT
From Charles Crawford, British ambassador to Poland, to the people

of Poland.

Dear people of Poland,

I should like to apologise for my comments in my leaked e-mail in which I described Poland as "rude and ungrateful" over the European Union budgeting process and said the British government had created more jobs for Poles in the past year than the Polish government. Naturally, my e-mail was meant as a joke, and I am grateful to your foreign ministry for inviting me to discuss the difference between the British and Polish senses of humour.

I have been in your country a mere two years, and confess to being deficient in good Polish jokes.

But after a nice chat in your foreign office over several hours, I can now count myself fully up to date.

From the British perspective, it has been illuminating to discover how marvellously unencumbered are new member states such as yourselves when it comes to the traditional language of diplomacy in the EU.

How splendidly quaint that your people have little to no experience of the verbal joshing that we, the French and Germans have traded in the past 40 years, which has done much to cement European co-operation and harmony. So well practised is such bonhomie that every new member of the EU has felt it necessary, indeed vital, to join in. For many diplomats, such friendly banter is one of the perks of the job and in the eyes of our national peoples justifies much of our remuneration.

I salute the respect and politeness with which you conduct yourselves in EU matters and look forward to seeing how long it lasts. In the meantime, your Polish sense of humour will keep me thoroughly entertained for the rest of my posting.

Yours sincerely,

Charles Crawford

[Jaga]

I believe that every European country starting with France and finishing with Poland has its own self-interest in stake mainly - regarding to EU. Maybe only Germany was able to go beyond it! Still, Poles are not faultless, I am also upset with French who do not even want to compromise a bit!

[bescheid]

British ambassador Charles Crawford was rude in his e-mail comments concerning Poland. He (Ambassador Crawford) holds a very high prestigious position as the Representative of his country Great Britain, he should and needs to be held accountable for all messages confidential or not originating from his office.

He did do some back peddling with his apologies, but, toward the end of his statement, was more of his biting remarks. I think perhaps the Polish people are deserving of a much higher quality of statement that he gave.

As a response to Ambassador's remarks, a very tactful fitting response would have been in the order of: Why my dear Ambassador, what a lovely remark you have try ed to make, perhaps it would be much wiser for you to dig up Mr Winston Churchill to in future give you instruction on how best to win friends, hearts and minds".

Well, this is why I am a nothing!

On a more lighter side though, yes, the French are holding the line on direct subsidies to farmers. It is hard on the EU budget, but, with the CAP reforms, it would seem more user friendly at least for a few years yet, to allow some of the more Rural new entry countries into the EU, to catch up with their agriculture.

The French can and are, at times very irritating. They are a very independent people and not always right, or, not always wrong.

I think perhaps a sticky point that irritates the British Tony Blair is the sugar refiners of Tate&Lyle.

www.eubusiness.com/Food/050623130842.yfpx8uio

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4095722.stm

Charles

[nancy]

bescheid said:

British ambassador Charles Crawford was rude in his e-mail comments concerning Poland. He (Ambassador Crawford) holds a very high prestigious position as the Representative of his country Great Britain, he should and needs to be held accountable for all messages confidential or not originating from his office.

I agree with you, Charles. It is one thing for us to joke about such things, but quite another for an ambassador. I am afraid that at the heart of his "joke" was a not-very-nice-sentiment towards the Poles. And for this he should be ashamed (and much more apologetic).

[Bob S]

;D Plenty of clowns out of work and looking for a job, then you have this bloke trying to break into the field; what a joke.