A Constitution for Europe?

Résumé du document

In May 2005, every French home received a book titled Treaty for the European Union. Based on the notions of liberty and democracy, the European Union was already divided on its decision to adopt the European Constitution or not. Defending the ideas of freedom since their adhesion to the EU, a lot of political leaders didn't hesitate however to withdraw the power of expression to the citizens. So some countries submitted the Treaty to their Parliament as they were scared by the reaction of their compatriots for a long time with their own political mistakes. Some others chose to give the first payers the right to express themselves with the slogan "no taxation without representation". So did Jacques Chirac, who decided to organize a referendum in France on the 29th of May 2005 to decide whether France should ratify the proposed Constitution. A majority of the voters rejected the treaty. The question on everyone's minds was as to why the EU needs a Constitution. Some countries like United Kingdom can survive without it. This rejection of the Constitution was maybe a consequence of a 50-year-old absenteeism, and a rejection of an "invisible hand" which can use the stringent power given to it with the following of the old rule of "carrot and baton".

Extraits

[...] The European “in-betweenness” In What's the European Union, Nature and prospects, Palgrave Macmillan 2005, Paul Magnette explains that there are 2 types of formations possible in the case of the EU: or the EU will turn into a Confederation (which decision comes from the national States) or in a Federal State (with a Constitution, a Bicameral Parliament and which laws are applied directly). However, F. Baud evocated in 1993 the possibility of a Federation of States , so the EU would stay a combination of member states keeping their national powers. For Hoffman, federation that succeeded becomes a Nation”, so the idea of the “in-betweenness” nature of the EU remains paradoxical, because there is nothing to qualify properly what the EU is currently becoming. [...]

[...] Based on the notions of liberty and democracy, the European Union was already unequal in the way to adopt or not the European Constitution. Defending the ideas of freedom since their adhesion to the EU, a lot of political leaders didn't hesitate however to withdraw the power of expression to the citizens. So some countries submitted the Treaty to their Parliament -maybe scared by the reaction of their compatriots against an ideal guilty they charged for a so long time with their own political mistakes, some others chose to give the first payers the right to express themselves-“no taxation without representation”, that is to say the European citizens. [...]

[...] To put it in a nutshell with this introduction, let's present what is going to follow. This whole reflection is focused on the idea that the European Union has been more and more taken away from its citizens, so the construction of the Union is not legitimate from the first steps in the 1950's to the reject of the Treaty for a European Union in 2005. However, there are some solutions to bring back to the Union its legitimacy and the interest of the European citizens, and this is exactly what this reflection deals with. [...]

[...] And the situation is not going to be easier tomorrow, because the European Funds have to be reorganised to permit the entrance of the new eastern member states, so a cut in the CAP funds will be necessary, and these funds are not negotiable for the oldest members which are also the main beneficiaries and which economies depend on the CAP. So now, what could the right solution to answer this problem? We saw that the project of the CAP, without any control on the long term, had some unexpected consequences and put the main member states in a tricky situation of dependency. [...]

[...] The Constitution will have to answer definitely those questions and to precise the real role and power it has to give to the Union. Conclusion : from the Constitution to the The whole process of construction of the EU has been built on a lack of legitimacy which led to the reject of the Treaty. Over the last decades, the Union has been more and more far of its citizens, controlled by a tight circle of bureaucrats. With the euro, the European Union showed its capacity to innovate and to have great projects. [...]