Constitution rebuff 'not end of Europe'

Veeramalla Anjaiah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

What will happen if the French say "no" to the European Union's nascent Constitution on May 29?

While acknowledging France could find it tough to get the EU (European Union) Constitution approved by its citizens, the country's ambassador to Indonesia says if the motion failed it would not be the end of European unity.

"It's a big challenge. But it would not be the end of the world. It would not also be the end of the Europe if French citizens reject the Constitution on May 29," French Ambassador Renaud Vignal said at a seminar on the European Union on Tuesday in Jakarta.

The French government was optimistic about the ratification of the Constitution, he said.

Around 300 students from Indonesia's 13 leading universities attended the one-day seminar, which was organized by the Delegation of the European Commission (EC) to Indonesia as part of the Europe Month 2005.

"It's a huge gathering and the Indonesian students are speaking very good English," Polish Ambassador to Indonesia Tamasz Lukaszuk, one of the speakers, told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the seminar.

With its roots in the 1950s, while the EU and its predecessor organizations have helped proved peace, progress and security to Europeans for more than 50 years, the body is facing its biggest- ever challenge to get its Constitution approved by all its members.

Another speaker, Italian Ambassador Francesco Greco, emphasized the need for the Constitution.

"We have a single currency, single market and a single frontier. But we do not yet have an institutional asset that can politically guide the EU with regularity. That's why we signed the Constitutional Treaty, which would provide a solid institutional base to Europe," Greco, whose country ratified the treaty, said.

Spanish Ambassador Damaso de Lario, yet another speaker whose country ratified the treaty recently, said the EU was a democratic and political organization based on common values and needed a strong Constitution.

"A treaty is only a step in the process of building a new Europe, De Lario said.

Endy M. Bayuni, The Jakarta Post's chief editor and one of the moderators of the seminar, echoed Vignal's view that ratifying the Constitution was a big challenge.

Out of 25 countries, about nine are yet to hold referendums on the Constitution, with the first one to be held in France on May 29.

The Netherlands will hold a similar referendum on June 1. Britons, who are well known for their skepticism about the EU, will be the last to ratify.

Despite its success in reuniting Europe after two bloody world wars, the EU has been facing difficulties in winning the hearts and minds of its constituents.

Sticking points include the EU's effect on immigration, unemployment, working hours, the integration of minority groups. Stringent rules that have cut the welfare benefits in several countries have also turned a huge number of people into Euroskeptics.

The Constitution, the mother of all EU treaties, will provide a common law for all the member countries. It is designed to streamline the powers of the EU, including the way decisions are taken -- and who does what as well as where member states retain their veto right -- in the bloc. It also gives the EU a higher profile in the world affairs, with its own President and foreign minister. It has a charter of fundamental rights for the EU citizens.