Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

French 'No' vote is real crisis; Pall of gloom desends over Europe
BBC ^ | May 30, 2005 | Paul Reynolds

Posted on 05/30/2005 4:18:09 PM PDT by nwrep

Even though well forecast, the French rejection of the EU constitution is stunning.

It throws the future direction of the European Union into doubt.

That it should be France which has dealt this blow is the real shocker.

France has been at the heart of the post-war construction of Europe.

It has been the mover and shaker. Now it has certainly done a bit of shaking.

The original agreement by France and Germany to pool the raw materials of war, iron and steel, was the idea of far-sighted Frenchmen like Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman.

They realised that three wars between the two countries since 1870 was enough and that Europe now required co-operation not confrontation.

The Coal and Steel Community grew into the Common Market, then into the European Community and finally into the European Union.

Good deal

When I went as a reporter to Brussels in 1982, French thinking absolutely predominated. It soon became obvious that when the French said that something was "good for Europe", they also meant that it was good for France.

Something is rotten in the state of Europe

The working language was French. The Commission spokesman spoke only in French and an attempt by the many non-European correspondents to get at least a translation into English was blocked on the grounds that this would "discriminate" against other languages.

Not that the Commission cared much about communication - it was too lofty.

Indeed the concept of the Commission as the guiding force of Europe was very much a French one. Here was a powerful, unelected civil service which actually had the sole power of proposing legislation. It still does in fact.

France had Germany, still racked with guilt, at its beck and call and the Germans poured vast sums into the budget, most of which went to farmers and much of it to French farmers. That was the deal. In exchange, the Germans got access to a common market for their manufactures. It worked pretty well.

So to have the French now saying a decisive "No" to the constitutional treaty is not only important. It is fundamental.

Options

This is not like Britain saying "No". That would be a problem. This is a crisis.

It means that something is rotten in the state of Europe.

The institutions of the EU have got ahead of the peoples of the EU.

European heads of state and government will creep to Brussels on 16 June to try to pick up the pieces. On 1 July, the British government takes over the EU presidency for a six-month stint and will be in the interesting position of having to come up with ideas.

There is no Plan B. All the constitutional treaty says about this situation is buried away in Article IV-443-4.

It states: "If, two years after the signature of the treaty amending this Treaty, four-fifths of the Member States have ratified it and one or more Member States have encountered difficulties in proceeding with ratification, the matter shall be referred to the European Council."

The two years is up on 29 October 2006.

There is no clear way forward. For the moment, the EU will stagger on under existing treaties.

It is possible that some bits of the constitution could be picked out and put together in a modest bundle - a more permanent presidency for example, rather than the everyone gets a turn principle which operates at the moment.

Future unclear

But more systemic plans, like an extension of majority voting and a change in the definition of a majority, will have to be put aside, for now.

And more broadly, Europe will not really know how or even whether it intends to act together in the future.

Does it want to forge a closer union or does it want to remain a looser collection of nation states?

To judge from the way it has failed to resolve this tension in the past, it is likely to continue somewhere in the middle.

The vision of Jean Monnet for a "United States of Europe" is not going to be realised. The EU is now far too big for such a project. And the French vote even casts doubt as to how big the EU will become.

There are grave implications in this vote for the accession of Turkey which featured in some of the hostile arguments against the constitution.

Talks with Turkey are due to start on 3 October. These talks could last for several years.

And right now, nobody knows what kind of Europe Turkey might one day join.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: euconstitution; frogsflinch
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-40 next last

1 posted on 05/30/2005 4:18:10 PM PDT by nwrep
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: nwrep

BTTT


2 posted on 05/30/2005 4:21:57 PM PDT by Fiddlstix (This Tagline for sale. (Presented by TagLines R US))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nwrep

BTTT


3 posted on 05/30/2005 4:23:10 PM PDT by MaryFromMichigan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nwrep
It means that something is rotten in the state of Europe.

Yea, their governmental promotion of socialism.

As powerful as the US is as being the only remaining super power, they realize that without a European union, their force in the world is small.

4 posted on 05/30/2005 4:27:54 PM PDT by EGPWS
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nwrep
pall of gloom desends over European Leftists


                                       Olds Media sits and spins when the wheels come off.

Franco red/blue map:


5 posted on 05/30/2005 4:29:39 PM PDT by Milhous
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EGPWS

If you don't want to play by my sandbox rules, then we don't play at at all.


6 posted on 05/30/2005 4:35:35 PM PDT by Grateful One (`)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Fiddlstix

Old europe still has a lot of pain to feel before we bail them out. Screw them.


7 posted on 05/30/2005 4:36:04 PM PDT by end socialism now
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Grateful One
If you don't want to play by my sandbox rules, then we don't play at at all.

Fine, then I will build my own sandbox and it will be superior to yours!

8 posted on 05/30/2005 4:38:08 PM PDT by EGPWS
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Grateful One

"at all".


9 posted on 05/30/2005 4:38:24 PM PDT by Grateful One (`)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: nwrep
The vision of Jean Monnet for a "United States of Europe"

What they voted against was more akin to the USSR than the USA. Had the EU Constitution resembled either the American Constitution, or even the Articles of Confederation, it probably would have passed.

10 posted on 05/30/2005 4:39:55 PM PDT by Regulator
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nwrep

Whos is the other guy in the pic with Chirac? This is a golden "Caption" pic!


11 posted on 05/30/2005 4:43:34 PM PDT by freedumb2003 (Of all the idiots I've known in my life, none of them were retarded (W. Earl Brown - "Warren," SAM))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nwrep

bump


12 posted on 05/30/2005 4:50:37 PM PDT by RippleFire ("It's a joke, son!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: end socialism now

Chirac says that it's because the Constitution has too much capitalism in it--too many "Anglo-Saxon" economic policies.


13 posted on 05/30/2005 4:51:13 PM PDT by Brilliant
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: end socialism now

Old Europe still has a lot of pain to feel before we bail them out...............

Why bail them out? They will only turn on us later (again).

Hearing about this reminds some of us of how liberals went into a state of depression after 04 election.

We can only speculate as to where this growing state of psychological collapse will take us (in Europe or here).


14 posted on 05/30/2005 5:09:12 PM PDT by Grateful One (`)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: nwrep
To sum up the EU bureaucrats' crisis in five words:

"Who knew sheep could bite?"

15 posted on 05/30/2005 5:09:38 PM PDT by HHFi
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Milhous

Hey... France has its own flyover country?


16 posted on 05/30/2005 5:11:08 PM PDT by lainie
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: nwrep

If they have a "pail of depression" over this, wait till the Muslims start taking over their Governments. You ain't seen nothing yet.


17 posted on 05/30/2005 5:13:55 PM PDT by rbg81
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: freedumb2003
That's Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin.

It seems Raffarin is gonna be the fall guy in this.

18 posted on 05/30/2005 5:15:42 PM PDT by philo ("We not only sing , but we can dance just as good as we walk." Archie Bell)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: nwrep
The countries of Europe should count themselves lucky they dodged the EU bullet.

Now, at least some of these countries have a shot at survival.

19 posted on 05/30/2005 5:22:55 PM PDT by Gritty ("On balance, 'Europe' is an indulgence the real Europe can't afford - Mark Steyn)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nwrep
"The working language was French."

Question for today:

Why does France exist?

To preserve a dying language.

20 posted on 05/30/2005 5:24:52 PM PDT by drc43 (Judges... Judges... get it done, then we can discuss priorities)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-40 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson