The French and Dutch No
I agree with Frank. The Dutch and French No’s are a symptom of what’s wrong with the European project: a feeling that it’s an elitist project, a plaything for (ironically) Gallic and Teutonic empire builders in Brussels. The EU seems incapable of explaining to its citizens what it is for.
Update: I read The Economist’s analysis of the French debate — published before the referendum — and heard some more about the Dutch premises on the radio. Predicably, the vote was not really about the EU per se, but rather on the internal political situation in those countries.
The French debate had three parts: worry about the dilution of French influence abroad now that EU has been expanded to 25 members, many of them pro-American; concerns about the economy and the erosion of a “social” Europe; and anger at the political elite, who have too often used “Brussels” as an excuse to push through reforms that they consider necessary, but which were unpopular at home.
Updated on Tuesday, 2005-06-05.
Posted at 12:53,
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