APPROVE AN ABBREVIATED EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION

France and the Netherlands have produced a masterpiece of political bungling. Leading politicians did not know how to tell their citizens what the European Union constitution is about. A clear majority said No to the new EU constitution. At the same time, they said Yes to the present EU.

The referendums will not make the EU go away. They leave us with our current muddled, undemocratic and unsocial treaties. The EU that is for economic integration and dubious about a social Europe is here to stay, thanks to the French and the Dutch. Must we other Europeans accept this? Unfortunately, yes. The EU is not a federation; it is a community of sovereign member states. It is based on international treaties that can only be changed unanimously. If one member says no, there is no treaty change. The only alternative would be for the nay-sayers to be left outside the treaty. No one is going to expel France and the Netherlands, two founder countries.

The constitution will not become law in its present form. The treaties will probably be revised piecemeal. Some bits will be taken from the constitution losing the general thrust towards more democratic decision-making and a more social Europe. Is this what they wanted in France and the Netherlands? I doubt it. Their leaders have become so alienated they did not know how to present a credible case.

The only way to save the EU constitution is to approve an abbreviated version. Drop the technical and explanatory articles in parts III and IV. The new constitution only needs parts I and II: what the Union is for, how it makes its decisions, and the rights of citizens. This would give it a chance of approval and offer citizens a more comprehensible document. This abbreviated constitution would have a chance of passing French and Dutch referendums by late 2006.

Kimmo Kiljunen, Vice Chairman, Grand Committee, Parliament of Finland and Former Member of the EU Constitutional Convention

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