Europe`s politicians won`t take no for an answer
A comment in by Alan Ruddock: in the Times
If Ahern and Jacques Chirac, the French president, or Gerhard Schroder, the German chancellor, or Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the European commission, are genuinely serious about bringing the people of Europe closer to the EU, then they have to start to take notice of what the people are saying.
No words in a constitution about common European heritage can change the fact that Europe`s differences in language, culture, politics, religion at the very least match its broad similarities. We are not one people, but a collection of nation states that are willing to cooperate closely, but who are not yet ready to blend into one.
Chirac and Schroder may believe that Europe should be a counterbalancing superpower to the United States, but those who agree with them ignore the common purpose that many European countries share with the United States. For many, the constitution is a step and a very uncertain one too far. Even if France and the Netherlands voted in favour, Britain is almost certain to reject it by a large majority. It could never pass in its current form, yet we are told there is no alternative.
Renegotiation may not be on the politicians agenda, but it is most assuredly on the peoples agenda. The sooner they realise that, and the sooner they stop lecturing and start listening, the healthier Europe will be.
