Rejection of EU constitution<\/p>\n
The rather unconvincing declarations made by the European
\nUnion's leadership that the ratification process for the ill-
\nfated European constitution is not yet dead reminds me of the
\nfarmer's futile attempt to kick his dead mule back to life.
\nPolitical decision makers would be well advised to act on the
\nreal reasons for the debacle (Crisis-hit EU mulls options after
\nnew charter blow in The Jakarta Post dated June 8).<\/p>\n
The overwhelming rejection of the European constitution by
\nFrench and Dutch voters had in fact very little to do with the
\nproposed document itself and the vast majority of \"no voters\"
\nwere not even familiar with it's 448 articles!<\/p>\n
To start with, the timing of the referendums could not have
\nbeen worse! Faced with economic stagnation and record high
\nunemployment levels, the proposed constitution was widely
\nperceived as an instrument for painful social cutbacks or an
\noutright attempt at dismantling existing employment protection
\nlegislation.<\/p>\n
Until recently, European voters at large failed to realize
\nthat there was a price to pay for the introduction of the euro,
\nthe stability and growth pact or the impact of EU enlargement.
\nRightly or wrongly, these are now perceived as an abdication of
\nfiscal, economic and political sovereignty decided over their
\nheads by career politicians and unelected bureaucrats in
\nBrussels.<\/p>\n
Fighting unemployment or financing gaping budget deficits by
\nprinting more money are no longer an option for Eurozone member
\nstates and a deep disconnect between voters and political
\ndecision makers is becoming increasingly apparent.<\/p>\n
With the recent addition of 10 new members states, not to
\nmention a waiting list of other admission candidates such as
\nBulgaria, Romania, Croatia or Turkey, fears of uncontrolled
\nimmigration and loss of national identity have reached
\nunprecedented levels.<\/p>\n
At the time when the Maastricht agreements were signed and
\nother far-reaching decisions were made, European voters remained
\nremarkably unconcerned or showed little interest.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, the eurocratic establishment not only
\nfailed to explain or to justify the consequences of its decisions
\nbut also took voters' approval and acquiescence for granted!<\/p>\n
The rejection of the European constitution can only be
\ninterpreted as a belated \"protest\" or \"no confidence\" vote aimed
\nat a largely unaccountable, faceless and aloof eurocracy!
\nA European constitution is certain to be adopted in the long run
\nbut, in the meantime, the political elite definitely needs to
\nreconnect with voters and reestablish its own credibility!<\/p>\n
JOSEPH LOUIS SPARTZ, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rejection-of-eu-constitution-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }