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BBC: EU struggles to save constitution
BBC ^ | Thursday, 2 June, 2005, 11:39 GMT 12:39 UK | staff

Posted on 06/02/2005 5:59:12 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach

Last Updated: Thursday, 2 June, 2005, 11:39 GMT 12:39 UK

EU struggles to save constitution

Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker
Jean-Claude Juncker was deeply shaken by the double "No"

European leaders are struggling to keep the EU constitution alive after French and Dutch voters firmly rejected it.

"This is a dangerous position to be in," said Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg, the current president of the European Union.

The Netherlands overwhelmingly rejected the constitution on Wednesday, three days after French voters said "No".

The "No" votes of two founding members of the European Union could effectively kill the constitution, analysts say.

QUICK GUIDE


BBC European affairs correspondent William Horsley says Mr Juncker seemed so distressed that he could hardly take in the fact of the second "No" vote.

The mood in Brussels is deep gloom, our correspondent says.

Latvia's parliament ratified the constitution by a vote of 71-5 on Thursday, bringing the number of countries backing it to 10.

The charter needs to be approved by all 25 of the EU's member states by the end of October next year in order to become law.

'Cheeks slapped'

Some EU officials tried to put a brave face on the Dutch result, but others were more plain-spoken.

"The French slapped the left cheek of Europe, the Dutch have now slapped the right," Graham Watson, Liberal leader in the EU Parliament, told Reuters news agency.

Dutch voters say "No" in bid to slow down Europe


"I hope this will bring the European Union out of its torpor and force its leaders... to show leadership."

Provisional results from the Netherlands show nearly two-thirds of voters were against the draft treaty. Turnout was 62.8%.

The euro fell to an eight-month low against the dollar as the Dutch results came out.

European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso is meeting European Parliament leaders on Tuesday for talks in the wake of the referendums.

"We have a serious problem, but we must continue our work," Mr Barroso said.

Mr Juncker said other EU members should go ahead with their referendums.

'Profound questions'

UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the double rejection "now raises profound questions for all of us about the future direction of Europe".

Europe has spoken loud and clear - it is time for change

Michael Koumenides
Nicosia, Cyprus


Britain will take over the rotating presidency of the European Union next month.

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said he was "very disappointed" with his country's referendum but pledged to honour the voters' verdict, which is not legally binding.

Neelie Kroes, a European commissioner from the Netherlands, told the BBC her country's "No" vote was partly a reaction to the speed at which the union was moving.

"What the 'No' is about in the Netherlands is that it's going too quick. Sometimes people have the feeling that in the EU they are interfering in too many national affairs and are doing too much."

Wednesday's ballot was the first time Dutch voters have had a chance to vote directly on a European Union issue - and the first national referendum in two centuries.

With some postal ballots still to be counted, the official result is not expected until 6 June.

ALREADY RATIFIED TREATY

Austria

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

The draft EU constitution was signed last year, after lengthy negotiations between members states.

It brings together for the first time the many treaties and agreements on which the EU is based. It defines the powers of the EU, stating where it can and cannot act and where the member states retain their right of veto.

It also defines the role of the EU institutions.

The constitution was rejected by 55% of French voters in a referendum on Sunday.




TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: euconstitution; eurofreude; europe
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1 posted on 06/02/2005 5:59:12 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

"How stupid of France and The Netherlands to bring it to the people for approval"


2 posted on 06/02/2005 6:00:34 AM PDT by Semper Paratus
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
And so begins the death of the left's dream of resurrecting the Soviet Union.
3 posted on 06/02/2005 6:01:09 AM PDT by The_Victor (Doh!... stupid tagline)
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Comment #4 Removed by Moderator

To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

"Mr Juncker seemed so distressed that he could hardly take in the fact of the second 'No' vote."

The picture of Juncker says it all . . .


5 posted on 06/02/2005 6:06:56 AM PDT by Cap Huff
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
I'm betting that the liberal Euro-elites find some way to force their "Constitution" down the throats of the people yet.

Certainly the people's will has never stopped liberals on either side of the Atlantic before when it interfered with their grabs for power.

6 posted on 06/02/2005 6:07:43 AM PDT by An Old Marine
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To: KalleKula
It would have given the French a good jolt of capitalism. Sadly it was not to be.....

If I understand the EU construction correctly, the economic portions of the union are already in place. Monetary, trade, etc. The EU constitution would have created the political institution for a European government, which would be largely socialist.

8 posted on 06/02/2005 6:16:08 AM PDT by The_Victor (Doh!... stupid tagline)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Why is nobody "satisfied that the people have spoken and their will can now be carried out".

These pols are like children who got their favorite toys taken away.


9 posted on 06/02/2005 6:17:44 AM PDT by WOSG (Liberating Iraq - http://freedomstruth.blogspot.com)
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To: KalleKula
It is a monster document, approx 500 pages. But the BBC has an intro:

Quick Guide: European Union constitution

10 posted on 06/02/2005 6:18:06 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (This tagline no longer operative....floated away in the flood of 2005 ,)
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To: An Old Marine
Well, you could be right. The problem for the Eurocrats is that the fellow in Brussels do not have to face the voters. The national governments, on the other hand do.

This means that in order to implemented it, the major parties in every major member state have to show a United Front against their voters, and keep it up year in and year out.

This time they failed to do that in either France or Holland.

It is a risky strategy, but what is even more risky is to build a "superstate" on quicksand.

Time will tell, but if they do get away with it at least they will have to do so in public.

11 posted on 06/02/2005 6:18:18 AM PDT by CasearianDaoist
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Comment #12 Removed by Moderator

To: KalleKula

What do you call a 500+ page Constitution?

Answer: A blueprint for a prison.


13 posted on 06/02/2005 6:20:40 AM PDT by Tarpon
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To: KalleKula
Only a European could conceive of this document as "Right Wing," if by that you mean "Liberal" in the 19th century sense of the word. I think it is seen this way by the more socialist countries. Many in the UK, for example, see it as too "left wing."

Freeper tend to see it as enshrining in law socialism and the centrality of the State. The "liberalizations" seem token and trivial to right thinking Americans. Only the core leftist of the Democrat Party in the USA would vote for this monster.

14 posted on 06/02/2005 6:23:25 AM PDT by CasearianDaoist
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Comment #15 Removed by Moderator

To: KalleKula

"In Europe the treaty is seen as a right wing document. "
That is media misinformation...

It would have codified an un-democratical, elitist, socialist welfare statist EU on all of Europe. An unelected Court would have had most of the power (sound familiar), and the document was so poorly written it was unclear who had what powers. Socialism was embedded in it: It had in its constitution a 'right' to employment outplacement services, 'rights' to health care, etc., for example. France's media whining about 'economic liberalism' is sleight-of-hand, the French didnt want to compete with low wage eastern europeans or see unlimited immigration ... same fears some have in the US, but that doesnt make the anti-immigration folks 'socialist'.

any connection between that EU Constitution monstrocity and concepts like democracy and freedom were purely incidental. It is a very good thing for freedom and for conservatives that this was rejected.


16 posted on 06/02/2005 6:24:52 AM PDT by WOSG (Liberating Iraq - http://freedomstruth.blogspot.com)
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Comment #17 Removed by Moderator

To: An Old Marine
...to force their "Constitution" down the throats of the people yet.

You must have missed the

Dutch Prime Minister ...pledged to honour the voters' verdict,
which is not legally binding.

Funny, I don't recall seeing that before the vote. It was always "We'll keep voting till we get the desired result."

Reminded me of local school budgets. Or larger city budgets in general.

18 posted on 06/02/2005 6:26:03 AM PDT by Calvin Locke
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To: KalleKula

Free trade does NOT require a 400 page Constitution that takes away a nation's sovereignty.


"It would have given the French a good jolt of capitalism."

Creating another layer of Government *never* helps capitalism. Cutting taxes, spending and regulation would.
... but Brussels was and is creating more regulation, not reducing it.


19 posted on 06/02/2005 6:26:58 AM PDT by WOSG (Liberating Iraq - http://freedomstruth.blogspot.com)
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