Rossputin.com Rational Thinking About Our World

see "EU to drop idea of constitution" (BBC News, 6/20/07)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6222992.stm

Europeans must have been wondering just how much government humans could stand without being crushed under its weight. Thankfully, the Dutch and the French voted down the proposed European Constitution which would have destroyed much of national sovereignty on the continent.

Now, in recognition of British and Polish objections to parts of the proposed constitution as well as the low likelihood of French and Dutch voters changing their minds, the German EU delegation is proposing scrapping that constitution and replacing it with a "Reform Treaty" which will at least keep the EU from having a sole Foreign Minister (rather than each country dealing with its own national interest), and allowing countries to opt out of certain provisions.

Obviously that sort of document has a much better chance of passage than the prior monstrosity, but they'd better get it done soon because when Germany no longer holds the rotating EU Presidency, the smaller countries which hold it next will probably not have the political muscle to get anything major done. If it were up to me, I would try to stall the process so exactly that happens.

Humans already suffer from a surplus of government. What is so surprising is not that a couple of countries revolted at the idea of giving up control of their own nation to some super-bureaucrat in Brussels, but that so many countries voted to do just that.