Could Giscard’s, ahem, alien ‘constitution’ be running into even more problems? Despite his claims that EU ‘citizens’ are clamoring for a constitution, a new poll shows that less than half of them approve of the whole EU ‘project’ in the first place. Polls, however, are transient, but these comments from one usually reliably EU-enthusiastic MP may signal that Britain’s Labour government is preparing to abandon the Giscard’s handiwork – at least if it is unable to get its (admittedly rather feeble) way in the intergovernmental discussions. The Daily Telegraphtakes up the story, but check out some of the details of how Giscard cooked up his draft:
“In a blistering pamphlet for the Fabian Society, German-born Mrs Stuart exposed the pretence that the wordy text is needed to tidy up the treaties or pave the way for EU expansion, saying “the real reason for the constitution – and its main impact – is the political deepening of the union”.
“She added: “Not once in the 16 months I spent on the convention did representatives question whether deeper integration is what the people of Europe want. “The debates focused solely on where we could do more at EU level. Any representative who took issue with the fundamental goal of deeper integration was sidelined.”
“She said the secretive body chaired by Valery Giscard d’Estaing slipped through radical changes that had never been agreed, insisting on French documents to create confusion. When the sole East European member dared to raise a dissenting voice he was told his vote “didn’t count”.
Charming.</p