25 NOVEMBER 2000, Page 33

Nice choice

THE ideal in-flight reading for Tony Blair as he fastens his seat-belt and wings his way to Nice. 2066 And All That (Inyx, £6.99 while the pound still exists) is William Keegan's account of Britain and 'Europe': the project, that is, as opposed to the continent. After all these years it still spends half its budget on promoting fraud and inefficiency in agricul- ture, but it has always had wider aspirations. Every so often, as Mr Keegan explains, we are invited to take it or leave it alone. We then try to duck the choice, without much success, either way. It will happen again at next month's Euro-summit. An alternative title suggests itself: Not Quite Nice.