He may be on his way out, but Blair hasn’t been able to resist the opportunity to give free markets one last kick. the Daily Telegraph has the details:

Tony Blair has given in to French demands to change the wording of the proposed EU treaty, sparking fears that Europe is to going to become less economically competitive. The Prime Minister held private talks with Nicolas Sarkozy today amid concerns that France is trying to change EU pledges on fair competition within the union. The draft treaty was due to contain a commitment to “an internal market where competition is free and undistorted”. But the newly-elected French president has insisted that the phrase “free and undistorted” be dropped, sparking fears that it would allow EU nations to use state aid to prop up uncompetitive industries. But Mr Blair emerged from his one-to-one meeting with Mr Sarkozy saying he was reassured that the amendment would not change the EU’s laws on competition.

Sure he is.