Hoon's no buffoon in eyes of the EU

Geoff Hoon with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana (l).
Photograph: Gerard Cerles/ AFP/Getty ImagesRaduta Matache, the chargé d'affaires at the Romanian embassy, today raised guffaws at a discussion on EU enlargement when she said - with a perfectly straight face: "I wish there were more Geoff Hoons".

Frequently ridiculed by sketch writers - the Guardian's Simon Hoggart used to compare the ex-defence minister and present minister for Europe to a country solicitor - Mr Hoon may not have many fans at Westminster, but he certainly has a following in Bulgaria and Romania, the two newest members of the EU.

Mr Hoon, along with the rest of the British government, should be given credit for championing EU enlargement. Accession negotiations with six applicant countries - Hungary, Poland, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Cyprus - began under the UK's presidency of the EU in 1998. UK support was again important in opening accession negotiations with Romania, Bulgaria, the Slovak Republic, Latvia, Lithuania and Malta in 1999.

Now with Germany and France lukewarm at best to Turkey's membership, it has been left to Tony Blair to make the case for Ankara. So wrong on Iraq, Mr Blair is so right to argue for enlargement. The expansion of the EU to 27 countries from the original six has been an unsung foreign policy success, improving the lot of millions of people in Spain, Greece and now in eastern and central Europe as well as bringing benefits for the original members, who also gain from a bigger market.