If you're like me, you're vaguely aware that the European Union is moving toward adopting a constitution, and are vaguely skeptical about the whole enterprise. In the U.K., it appears that Tony Blair will reverse his prior position and permit a referendum on adoption of the proposed document. Today's Scotsman has a primer on what is going on in question and answer form. An excerpt:

Q: What’s different about this constitution?

A: It’s called a constitution for a start, which doesn’t please the sceptics.

What it does is set out the EU’s aims and goals much more clearly and tidies up the existing set of rules. But it also goes much further, with far more decisions taken by majority voting instead of needing unanimity and with controversial new jobs on the way for a “President of Europe” and an EU “foreign minister”.

Q: Isn’t this the European superstate the eurosceptics have warned about for years?

A: It’s easy to characterise it like that and certainly the more federalist EU governments want to use this constitution to push integration as far as possible, with a powerful Commission in Brussels running the show. And then there are the new plans to join forces on defence and foreign policy, and make tax and social security subject to majority vote.

Q: This constitution was supposed to help bring the EU closer to citizens, wasn’t it?

A: Yes, and there’s little sign that it has: one recent poll showed support for the EU falling below 50% on average in all EU countries for the first time and down to just 23% in the UK.

Q: Isn’t that a problem?

A: Yes, because quite a few EU governments are having referenda to approve the new constitution once it’s been agreed and the odds are high it will be thrown out in one or other country – possibly Britain.

Posted by John at 08:00 AM  |    |  

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