Europe’s citizens need open debate

THE current furore in France over the European Constitution is not merely a consequence of French internal politics, but the manifestation of a collective Europe-wide desire to step on the brakes of a somewhat out-of-hand political steamroller.

If the root cause of citizens' misgivings truly is, as eurocrats would have it, 'backward thinking', 'misinformation', 'left-wing extremism, 'right-wing extremism', 'electoral parallax', 'conspiracy theory' (take your pick, Mr MEP) then it is so because open debate on this, along with previous treaties, has been actively avoided by elected representatives rather than being confidently and committedly guided by them.

In the run-up to the constitution's ratification thus far, backbenchers Europe-wide, and across the political spectrum, made innumerous calls for more debate on the content and ramifications of the European Constitution.