Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Euro 2004 and Europe.
Euro 2004
Asked if there was any concern within Government that England might be thrown out of Euro 2004 because of hooliganism, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that that was a matter for the football authorities. The Prime Minister had been anxious today to send a message, both to those fans in Portugal and at home, that we in no way condoned such activity. Although we recognised that it was being carried out by a small minority, the message had to be sent loudly and clearly that such behaviour would not be tolerated and the police, both here and in Portugal, had our full support in dealing with it. In answer to further questions, the PMOS said that those responsible for the violence, small though they might be in number, should know that they were bringing shame on England by their behaviour.
Asked if the Prime Minister was intending to watch the England v Switzerland match tomorrow, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister would be attending the European Council meeting in Brussels tomorrow, and fortunately - or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it - that would have to take priority. It went without saying, however, that he would be asking for regular updates on the game. Asked by the Daily Express if the Prime Minister would raise the flag of St George in Downing Street in response to the campaign being waged by the Daily Star, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He was sure that the Daily Express, with its strong tradition and proud heritage, would recognise and accept that point above all. Put to him that the Prime Minister was Scottish in any event, the PMOS agreed there was no denying the fact that the Prime Minister had been born in Scotland.
Europe
Asked to confirm the reportedly on-the-record view of a senior British official in Brussels that the Prime Minister did not support the candidature of Guy Verhofstadt as European Commission President in succession to Romano Prodi, the PMOS said that he was not aware of the remarks and could not therefore comment. Serious discussions about candidates for this important post were continuing and it was obviously better for them to take place in private between the EU Heads of Government. Asked if the Prime Minister did not support Mr Verhofstadt because he was too anti-American, the PMOS said that he had absolutely no intention of getting drawn into a public discussion about the merits or demerits of individual candidates. Suffice to say that we recognised the significance of the job and that it should be up to EU Heads of Government to discuss any nominations privately. Put to him that the discussions did not appear to be taking place in private if British officials were briefing in public in Brussels, the PMOS said that he would brief in his way, others would brief in theirs. He underlined that we would not be discussing the individual candidates in public. It was a discussion which would be had around the table in Brussels by the EU Heads of Government. Asked to explain why it was perfectly fine for the French and Germans to indicate their support for Mr Verhofstadt, whereas the UK was unable even to hint that we might be less enthusiastic about his candidature than Antonio Vittorino’s for example, the PMOS said we would stick to our traditional approach to these matters and leave the discussions to be held in private. Asked if, "in general terms", the UK would favour having someone who was avowedly federalist as European Commission President, the PMOS said that our position on the Treaty and Constitution was very clear. If an agreement was reached, we believed that it would reflect our view that Europe should work together as a group of nations who co-operated on matters of common interest. That was a view widely shared within the EU, particularly by the new Accession countries.
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