MaxedOutMama

It's beginning to look as though the old continent is facing an historic break, just as it did in 1789. Are the French getting ready to export their revolutionary ideas, in a sudden outbreak of passion and violence, beyond their own borders? By voting No to the constitution, do they intend to deal a deathblow to the European Ancien Régime in Brussels, with its bureaucracy, its democratic shortcomings and its insatiable appetite for imposing regulations? And will the remaining Europeans be forced to join forces to oppose this danger, just as the Prussians, Austrians and English once joined forces against the Jacobins and murderers of kings in Paris?

The constitution strengthens the European Parliament's right to participate in the Brussels legislative process, but denies it the right to initiate legislation nor can it exercise any control over the European Council. It calls for the possibility of "heightened cooperation," giving some members the chance to move forward more quickly than others. But it also sets higher barriers: At least a third of EU states must be participants in such an acceleration and the European Commission, Council and Parliament must approve. The German-French economic engine, easily capable of spurring growth in a smaller Europe, could just as easily be shut out in a larger EU consisting of 25 or, at some future date, perhaps even 30 members. Paris and Berlin would no longer automatically be able to find a sufficient number of allies to form a solid core within the EU. "The opportunity to move forward with the Germans along the road of democratic integration no longer exists," complains Socialist Senator Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

From agriculture policy to the euro to the appealing dream of a European superpower ("Europe-Puissance"), all major initiatives have always come from Paris. For France, Europe became the foundation of a greatness it has long since lost. Now, the planned EU constitution recognizes the goal of a common security and defense policy, but only if it is compatible with NATO's requirements. This concession, indispensable for almost all other members, consigns France's vision of a Europe on par with America to the garbage heap of symbolism. Seen in this light, the constitution represents a step in the direction of progress and emancipation for most EU states, but for many Frenchmen a step backwards into the banality of a perfectly ordinary nation. The question is whether, in a narcissistic flight of fancy, the French will once again revolt in the face of this painful realization.

MEPs on Thursday (26 May) voted strongly in favour of setting up an EU diplomatic service calling it "extremely important" if the bloc wants to become better at raising its external profile.