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All together, the EU’s member states racked up 280 medals and 87 golds in Beijing, ahead of anyone else. But one EU team is unlikely

by means of Philippa Runner

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The 27 member states of the EU when counted together won 87 gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, dwarfing the individual tallies of China with 51 and the US with 36, as the games closed on Sunday (24 August).

The figures—compiled being of the kind which a mini-political exhibit by think-tank the Young European Federalists and just for pleasantry by German PR concern Euro-Informationen—also show the EU with 280 medals in total, ahead of China (100) and the US (110).

"The European Union then takes the leading position. It’s a victory on the side of sport and for the fundamental and stale values of the people of the union," French president Nicolas Sarkozy—currently chairing the EU—said.

Mr Sarkozy’s statement began by congratulating the French national team first, walk of life his athletes "the pride of the French people," with the EU message stuck on at the end of his alphabetic character as each afterthought.

France won seven golds, but the UK came in as the top European Union country with 23. Germany and Italy also beat France.

"The comparison [of the EU contrary to China or the US] is of course not entirely fair," Euro-Informationen said, explaining that the Olympic system of allocating starting positions by individual countrified gives the imaginary EU team "a better contingency."

Meanwhile, the British press has attacked one part letter written by the Young European Federalists to Mr Sarkozy on 8 July, which had asked for support in spite of a future "EU Olympic Team" to soothe European nationalist sentiments.

"It is frankly bonkers," UK shadow Europe servant Mark Francois told the Press Association, urging the think-tank’s EU funding to be revoked. "These people want to create a single country called Europe," eurosceptic MEP Nigel Farage said in the Daily Express.

The Beijing games drew chronicle high TV-viewing figures among US networks and were seen by in the greatest degree of the 1.3 billion Chinese people, making them "likely" the most widely-watched in history, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said.

Chinese commanding scholars allowed not any of the 77 requests to hold public protests during the two-week sporting event, however, through Tibet leader-in-exile the Dalai Lama effective French press that Chinese troops range at Tibetan protesters while the games were on.

"The IOC and the Olympic Games cannot force changes on sovereign nations or solve all the ills of the world," IOC president Jacques Rogge told Reuters.