French President Jacques Chirac, fighting for a "yes" in a referendum on closer European integration, said that building the European Union would not lead to nations losing their unique cultural identities.
"Being European does not mean abandoning oneself. It means being more French, more German, more Polish but sharing a common destiny," said the French leader, opening a meeting of European culture ministers.
His speech kicked off a week when Chirac and his government are stepping up their campaign to get the EU's first constitution approved in the referendum on May 29.
The campaign in France has been bruising, with opponents taking an early lead in opinion polls.
Chirac reiterated his call for European libraries to put their works online. He also defended European cultural values, saying that cultural diversity must be protected and that cultural uniformity would be dangerous.
"We are no longer able to dream of closing ourselves inside national bastions," he told the gathering, which included 16 EU culture ministers. "Compartmentalization and isolation would be fatal to our cultures."
Chirac also sought to hit home the message among wary voters at home that France will become stronger working within an enlarged EU than going it alone.
"Our nations can at last forge a common destiny supported by the same ideas," he said.
"That is what allows you today to adopt a constitution to found the future of our continent not only on the union of our economic interest but also on a community of values, of principles and ideas that makes Europe a unique whole."
Chirac has staked considerable prestige on getting the treaty accepted. He says he expects other EU countries will continue with the ratification process even if the French vote down the treaty, leaving France isolated in the bloc which it helped to create.
By: N. Peter Kramer
