Fury as French use WWI battle to praise the EU

FRENCH diplomats sparked fury yesterday for using the anniversary of Passchendaele to promote the EU.

The French embassy in London hailed the bloc for bringing ‘peace, unity and solidarity’ to the continent.

On Twitter it described the 100th anniversary of one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War as ‘an opportunity’ to celebrate EU achievements.

Sigmar Gabriel, the German minister for foreign affairs, also used the commemorations to mention Brussels, saying on Twitter: ‘Today, more than ever, Europe is our future.’

The conflict – officially known as the Third Battle of Ypres – was fought from July 31, 1917 until November that year.

In the three months of fighting, half a million Allied and German soldiers were killed, wounded or went missing.

On Monday, politicians and Royals paid tribute to the fallen at a ceremony at Tyne Cot cemetery, Belgium. Mr Gabriel went even further than his Twitter post in a statement on the German foreign office website. He said: ‘Europe is far more than a single market. Europe is a peace project. Europe is our future. We can only safeguard our interests and defend our values if we stand united.’

The EU can trace its origins to 1951 but it was established under its current name in 1993 following the Maastricht Treaty. Yesterday politicians and former military chiefs accused the nations of a ‘contemptible’ attempt to hijack the sombre anniversary to make inaccurate boasts about the EU.

Admiral Lord West, former head of the navy, said: ‘The alliance of European states has helped but actually the safety and security of Europe has been assured by the UK and the US since 1945.

‘To use the memorial of Passchendaele, one of the two times in the last century when Britain helped Europe out to the cost of blood and treasure, to say how wonderful the EU is, is a little bit too much.’

Sir Gerald Howarth, a former defence minister, told The Daily Telegraph: ‘To use the sombre commemoration of this wanton loss of life as some sort of excuse to justify the European Union is pretty contemptible.

‘The idea that it is the EU who has kept the peace in Europe these past 75 years is nonsense. It has been Nato.

‘The implication that Britain’s departure from the EU might render Europe more liable to some sort of European war is also absurd. It suggests we’ve got to remain in the EU in order to contain Germany.’

Colonel Bob Stewart, who led operations in the Bosnia war in the 1990s, said: ‘The peace and security of Europe has primarily been maintained by the Nato alliance.

‘Absolute fans of the EU always maintain that the EU is a major force for maintaining security. That is rubbish.’