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Fogh bag facaden (2003 TV Movie)
9/10
Rare behind the scenes look - especially interesting if you take interest in high politics EU issues.
13 November 2008
This documentary follows Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen when he as President of the EU finishes negotiations on EU-enlargement in 2002. It is a rare and comic behind-the-scenes look at how high-level EU-negotiations are carried out, mainly focusing on Poland's egoistic and tough stand on high agricultural subsidies, Chiraq and Schröder's difficulties accepting it, and the difficulties of Fogh Rasmussen and Romano Prodi to reach a decision.

The Kaliningrad issue and the meeting with Vladimir Putin - including his infamous commentaries on the Russian press as "all bandits" - and the behind-the-scenes reluctance of Turkeys EU-membership is also shown. The latter creating disturbances in Turkey and directly causing the Turkish stock markets to drop around 20 % after the release of the documentary in Swedish television.

This and other behind the scenes events have probably made it less likely that another such movie will surface within the near future.

The documentary also shortly deals with the suppression by the Danish Ministry of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which to non-Danes will be less interesting. According to the director Fogh Rasmussen was given final cut, which he used in one case deleting scenes of him describing his Minister of Foreign Affairs as a man with few ideas.

To people with a special interest in EU decision-making this documentary is very interesting.
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