I spend a fair amunt of time in the EU and that is what I see. This vote and a large no from the Dutch will have an effect. When the SDP is put out in the fall, the CDU will most likely cut back on Eu expenditures.
As I said, this is the high water mark of integration for quite a while. There is going to be a reeveluation of the whole project now, and the elites are going to be under real pressure.
I am going over next week...can not wait to see what the reaction is on the ground.
I'll be curious to see what they're thinking in Spain, where I'm going next week! They voted a narrow Yes, at the urging of their socialist crackpot Zapatero, but had an incredibly low turnout because most people wanted to vote "No" but had been told by their government that only right-wing cranks were going to vote No. (This despite the fact that the Conservative party, the PP, also urged a Yes vote.)
Spanish leftists are devoted to France. Even in the 18th and 19th centuries, the "progressive" element were referred to as the "afrancesados," the lovers of things French, which we might translate more colloquially as "Frenchified." And now Spain has voted Yes, while their idol, France, has voted No. Hah!
I trust we FReepers can look forward to an extended detailed briefing when you return!