EU must move beyond economics to become a global force

AT THE coming EU summit, debate will centre on whether to go forward with a “mini” EU constitutional treaty.

That debate is the result of the rejection of the draft treaty by French and Dutch voters in 2005. But those “no” votes have obscured the fact that 18 of the EU’s 27 states have ratified the treaty. Luxembourg’s voters, for example, approved it by a 56.5% majority immediately after the Dutch and French no votes.

With two-thirds of member states and a majority of European citizens supporting the treaty, it cannot simply be abandoned.