French minister slams British opposition 'pathetic' EU plans

(LONDON) - A French minister Thursday slammed British opposition leader David Cameron's EU plans as "pathetic", just hours after he vowed to take back powers from Europe.

French Europe Minister Pierre Lellouche accused the Conservative party leader of marginalising Britain within the European Union with his new plans, which he predicted would not succeed "for a minute."

"It's pathetic. It's just very sad to see Britain, so important in Europe, just cutting itself out from the rest and disappearing from the radar map," Lellouche told the Guardian newspaper.

"They are doing what they have done in the European parliament. They have essentially castrated your UK influence in the European parliament."

Cameron, tipped as the next British prime minister, pledged Wednesday to negotiate the return of powers from Brussels to London if he wins the next general election due by June.

Cameron's speech in London, a bid to appease eurosceptics in his party, comes after he pulled out of the main centre-right grouping in the European Parliament, a move that sparked concern among many in Europe.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's party is a member of the main European People's Party (EPP) grouping in the parliament.

Cameron set out the plans after confirming that his party would no longer hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty following its ratification Tuesday by the Czech Republic.

Cameron pledged to change British law so that any future transfer of powers to Brussels under the Lisbon Treaty must be approved by the British parliament, and any other treaties would be subject to a referendum.

But Lellouche said the Conservatives have no hope of securing any EU support. "It's not going to happen for a minute. Nobody is going to indulge in rewriting (treaties for) many, many years," he said.

"Nobody is going to play with the institutions again. It's going to be take it or leave it and they should be honest and say that."

The Lisbon Treaty is designed to streamline the running of the bloc, which has almost doubled in size to 27 nations since a swathe of ex-communist countries including the Czech Republic joined in 2004.

Lellouche also took aim at Conservative foreign affairs spokesman William Hague, accusing him of bizarre autism in their discussions.

"They (the Conservatives) have one line and they just repeat one line. It is a very bizarre sense of autism," he said.

Faced with massive issues including a global economic crisis, immigration and a war in Afghanistan, Europe needed to be united, Lellouche said.

"We need to be united, otherwise we will be wiped out and marginalised. None of us can do it alone. Whether you're big or small, the lesson is the same. And England's risk is one of marginalisation. Irrelevance."