France Slow in Negotiations with EU

The European Union and France have been haggling for sometime now, where at one point it appeared that France would open their gambling to other members of the European Union.

At this point France has not loosened it grip on their gambling monopoly but they have expressed that they may open horse racing to the European Union.

According to statements made in a French newspaper the French budget minister Eric Woerth has stated that in his upcoming meeting with Charlie McCreevy the International Markets Commissioner of the EC; France is willing to make some concessions but they have certain parts of their gambling industry they will not loosen their hold on and France will remain firm on these. He went on to say that just because a gambling operator is licensed in another country is not a reason to allow them entrance to French gamblers.

The next set of talks due to take place in February and March of 2008, the secretary general of the European Gaming and Betting Association Sigrid Ligne has said the negotiations have been in the process since June with some agreements made but not finalized and they are now questioning if France is stalling in order to keep their gambling monopoly as long as they are able.