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Barosso

Seriously, die already!

European Union

The situation is getting annoying. Maybe it's because of the recent Europe Day, but apparently the EU is on a renewed mission to push matters forward (read: down our throats). Barely having been able to fully enjoy new Frankenstein-style live support from Barosso, the EU undemocracy gets another boost because Angela Merkel wants the constitution back from the dead as well:

"We need to think about how we make the constitution a success. I want the constitution, the German government wants the constitution."

The EU is divided between countries which regard the existing text of the constitutional treaty as the best possible compromise and others, which would prefer to declare it dead.

We need to think about making democracy work in Europe. We do not want the constitution. And it can not be ratified without us, those were the rules. So seriously, give up on it already. It's so dead, it was never really alive in the first place.

Die already. Please?!

European Union

Barosso is in a mission to wake the European constitution from death.

"We have to take decisions for the future," he said. "I think it's best to have a new institutional settlement for the union before the end of this Commission and parliament."

Best for whom? For us, citizens, or for the Commission and parliament?

The prevailing view in Brussels is that no serious decisions on the constitution can be taken until after Dutch and French elections next spring.

Hey, Brussels! We said no. And not just parliament, but the entire chamber agreed to respect that. So our elections matter not: no is no.

Other initiatives seemed designed to do the bare minimum to assuage concerns in countries such as France that the EU is not doing enough to promote the concept of "social Europe".

Citizens could be offered a new entitlement card setting out their existing rights as members of the EU. There would also be an ill-defined "comprehensive stocktaking of today's European society and an agenda for universal access and solidarity".

Okay, I'm willing to give that initiative a try. If the EU manages to summarise citizen rights to make them fit on a creditcard-sized document, then maybe they can do the same for the constitution and remove enough crud to make it worth a second look.

Otherwise. Die already, constitution. Please?!

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