BRUSSELS — France was treated in an "unacceptable" way when Australia,
Britain and the US negotiated a defense pact ditching its contract to supply
submarines to Canberra, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Monday.
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"There are a lot of open questions that have to be answered," von
der Leyen told CNN, according to a tweeted video extract of her
interview.
"One of our member states has been treated in a way that is not
acceptable."
Von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said Brussels would
want to "clarify" what had happened "before you keep on going
with business as usual".
The full interview was to be broadcast later Monday.
France reacted with fury last week when the three English-speaking allies
revealed the AUSUK pact, which would see Washington
supply Australia with
nuclear-powered subs.
This torpedoed a long-standing agreement that France would supply
diesel-powered boats, to be assembled in an Australian shipyard, in a multi-billion
dollar deal.
Paris has recalled its ambassadors from Canberra and Washington for
consultations, and EU foreign ministers have added the issue to their meeting
later Monday in New York, ahead of the UN General Assembly.
In Brussels, diplomats said that the 27-member union was broadly behind
France in its disagreement, but so far they have stopped short of publicly
backing France's most aggressive comments.
Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has said France was "stabbed in the
back" by the pact, and European affairs minister Clement Beaune has
suggested it could derail EU-Australian trade talks.
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