[originaltext] Tony Blair’s message to the European Union is that it must chan

Tony Blair’s message to the European Union is that it must change the way it does business if it is to survive. He told the European Parliament that the people of Europe are ahead of the continent’s politicians in recognizing the need for change. Mr. Blair’s message comes as tile EU wonders how it can get out of a crisis caused by French and Dutch voters’ rejection of its constitution and its failure at a summit last week to agree on a long-term budget. But for Mr. Blair, the issue is bigger than the constitution or the budget. It is that Europe must adapt itself to changing times in order to compete economically, not just with the United States but also with such rising giants as China and India.
  Mr. Blair has been accused by the French and the Germans, among others, of wanting to destroy Europe’s welfare state and impose unfettered capitalism across the continent. His critics also say Britain wants the EU to be a big common market and is not interested in closer political integration. Mr. Blair said those criticisms are unfair and his aim is not to kill Europe’s highly regulated social model but to change it.