Tony Blair is assailed on all sides. We should reserve our pity for Jacques Chirac. Britain’s prime minister stands accused of robbing the poor in eastern Europe to safeguard the rebate on his country’s payments to the European Union. As befits the president of France’s fifth republic, Mr Chirac has loftier ambitions. He wants next week’s summit of EU leaders to endorse a special tax deal for French restaurateurs.

The moment has come to inject a little perspective into the wrangling among EU governments about the size and shape of the Brussels budget. These periodic spats about the future financing of the Union make for great headlines. Fights over money touch the rawest nerves of national political leaders. The remind us, too, of the limits to European integration.