The reaction of the European ministers in reaction to the failure of the new European so-called constitution is a shame to all of us. TelePolis writes how the main author of this document said to the French president that it was a mistake to send a copy of the constitution to all households. ¹
This can only mean two things:
1. We failed to trick them by being honest, or
2. people are unfit to govern themselves.
And now they need some time to think – or rather, to make the nay-sayers think. Yuck!
There’s another article by John Horvath on this issue, in English. He writes:
[...] eurocrats are often too hasty at dismissing negative attitudes toward the EU as irrational behaviour. The reason Europeans feel that EU institutions aren’t relevant and necessary is because, in practice, they really aren’t. The procedures for the EU are spelled out in the Treaty of Rome, which refers to equilibrium between the European Commission (EC), the Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament. While the formula may look nice on paper, in practice it’s anything but equal. It’s the EC, in its role as the executive branch of the EU, which proposes negotiations, signs, and then ratifies an EU treaty or directive. On the other hand, it’s the exclusive right of the Council of Ministers to make decisions. The parliament, meanwhile, which is supposed to be the focal point for citizens (as membership in both the Council of Ministers and the EC are appointed positions, and thus not accountable to an electorate), is relegated to an observatory role, as it’s limited to only giving its opinion on certain issues. [...] Although the EC has gradually admitted that they have a “communication problem” in making relevant EU institutions and procedures to the public at large, what they fail to grasp is that their problem goes far beyond simply “communicating” their ideas to the public. Not only does the EC have a problem communicating its ideas to the people of Europe, it also has a problem of listening to what the people are saying. With such a blind, deaf and dumb institution operating from Brussels, one can’t expect much in terms of civic discourse between EU institutions and European citizenry. ² ³
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