French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called for a profound change to the way Europe is being built, on the eve of France taking on the EU presidency.
Speaking on French TV, Mr Sarkozy said there had been "errors" in the way Europe was set up and that its citizens were losing faith in the project.
France has an ambitious agenda for its six months at the helm that includes immigration, defence and agriculture.
Paris formally takes over the rotating presidency from Slovenia on Tuesday.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner started the process with a handover ceremony German-French family seized from yacht off Somalia ...
Abducted Frenchman in Afghanistan released ...
German Biker Gang Members Get Life for Murder of Rival ...
Slovenian apologise for nuclear alert mix-up ...
Merkel Seen as Europe's Top Dog, Says New Study ... in Nova Gorica, southern Slovenia, on Monday.
Speaking on France 3, Mr Sarkozy said: "There have been errors in the way Europe has been built. We must therefore profoundly change our way of building Europe."
He said concerned citizens in Europe were now "asking themselves whether, in the end, they will be better protected by national authorities than European ones".
Correspondents say the French president's long list of "priorities" may prove unachievable.
Mr Sarkozy's real priority will be dealing with the aftermath of Ireland's referendum rejection of the EU's Lisbon reform treaty, says the BBC EU correspondent Mark Mardell.
'Average shape'
The treaty was meant to streamline EU decision-making following enlargement of the bloc to 27 members.
It has to be ratified by each one of those members - so the Irish rejection has cast a shadow over all other EU projects.
Mr Kouchner reflected the mood at the handover ceremony in Nova Gorica.
His Slovenian counterpart, Dimitrij Rupel, said France was inheriting the union in "rather good shape".
"Well, yes, let's rather say it is in average shape," the Frenchman retorted.
He added: "I think we need to be modest and resolute... to be as close as possible to the positions, the concerns, the anxieties of the Europeans... who seem to be lacking in hope."
In an indication of one of the issues likely to loom over France's presidency, French lorry drivers blocked roads around Paris on Monday in protest at rising fuel prices.
They are demanding government compensation - though Mr Sarkozy's suggestion that the EU reduce VAT on fuel received little support from other members.
(BBC)
<< Back