Sir, - When a politician resigns over policy differences this should be respected by political supporters and political opponents alike. This must be the case for Oskar Lafontaine who resigned last week as German finance minister. However, it is fair to say that since the new German government came to power last October it has set targets for reforms that are unrealistic and would cause uproar in many member states of the EU.
The Agenda 2000 negotiations which are now under way are arguably the most difficult set of talks which the European Union has faced since its foundation as the European Economic Community in 1957. The negotiations which brought about the internal market and the Single European Currency were also very difficult but were based on the premise that stability within the European Union was paramount at all times. This must also be the key consideration for EU institutions and leaders as they search for a uniform agreement on key aspects of reform of EU policies under the Agenda 2000 programme.
The partnership approach involving all EU institutions and European governments in order to develop and formulate key EU policies is the way forward to maintaining and preserving stability within the European Union itself. It is this key point that Oskar Lafontaine clearly failed to remember. I hope that the German government will now take a more sensible and even-handed approach to the Agenda 2000 reform negotiations which hopefully will be finalised at the Berlin Summit on March 25th. - Yours, etc.,
Jim Fitzsimons, MEP, Dublin Road, Navan, Co Meath.