Reflections on the EU Constitutional Crisis

Franz Knipping
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Franz Knipping: University of Wuppertal

Chapter 10 in EU - Asean, 2009, pp 187-192 from Springer

Abstract: Please let me start with a joke. Recently in Brussels an American met with a European official, and the two discussed future perspectives of the United States on the one hand, and the European Union on the other. “You know”, said the visitor, “we as Americans can be very confident in the future. We have a good President, we have Johnny Cash, we have Bob Hope, and we have Stevie Wonder”. His European counterpart grew depressed. “Too bad”, he said, “we do not even have a president of the European Union, and we have no cash, no hope, and I know of no wonder”. The joke reflects very nicely the European mood after the negative referenda on the Constitutional Treaty in France (29 May 2005) and the Netherlands (1 June 2005), followed only 2 weeks later by the failure of the European Council to agree on the Budgetary Forecast for the 7-year period from 2007 to 2013. There was embarrassment and shock, and even talk about an approaching end of the European integration dream and of the sustainability of the Euro as the common currency. And the brave positive referendum of little Luxemburg could not really change the situation. What had happened in Europe, and what does it mean? Please let me advance some reflections and group them under three points: What exactly has been rejected with the French and Dutch referenda, why has it been rejected, and what should be done after the rejection?

Keywords: Member State; Common Currency; Maastricht Treaty; National Parliament; Constitutional Treaty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-540-87389-1_11

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