, Columnist
Why Eastern Europeans Want More Sugar in Their Sprite
Food quality has become a touchstone for Eastern members, who are fed up with being treated as second-class EU citizens.
Caveat emptor.
Photographer: Martin Divisek/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The new push for a "multi-speed Europe," in which only those countries that want a closer union pursue it, will almost inevitably fuel resentment in Eastern Europe, where politicians are already up in arms about being treated as second-class Europeans.
A battle over food quality has become a major proxy for that resentment. The Visegrad Four -- Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary -- are now working to get the European Union to acknowledge that some members are being treated less equally than others when it comes to what they eat.