[jaguar]

I'm glad the constitution failed, there needs to be a long and serious debate about the future of the EU and this was the French's way of saying so. And giving the finger to jaques. Don't rule that guy out, he's seriously teflon. Dutch will can it too.

It's not just about creating another pole to counter the US, it's about making life easier for everyone inside, whether it be leisure or business. The EU does work, I can travel from Dublin to Vienna without more than a vague wave of the passport, I can move goods and do business with ease, most of the way I can even use the same money. Legislation is standardised to a certain degree, banking regulation is better and clearer (even more so with Basel2) it's easier to study in other EU countries, the list goes on and on. That is really good and won't go away. The question is where it goes from here. The EU is opaque and corrupt, people don't understand how it works, how it is governed, how legislation comes into force and who their representatives are. That needs to be resolved before the EU will work. Now the constitution has been defeated it's time for this debate to happen, if it does not in the long term the EU is in my opinion, rightfully doomed.

The as a superstate could work very well with a small 'core' of EU countries and a much more transparent power structure but I don't see that happening. The ideal solution from my perspective is a 2-tier system, putting Slovenia and France on the same level is stupid and yes, doomed, just like the League of nations. I don't know if all the new EU countries were a good idea, my gut says no, this goes double for Turkey. If they can't be gotten rid of the only answer that will allow the EU to continue to work well will be a 2 or multi tier system that allows the founders and big countries their rightful influence and power.

The other issue is that Germany, France and Italy need to pull their fingers out and reform their economies, Shroder tried but was too weak, Chirac is too weak to do it now and Belisconi is too busy playing party politics and stuffing his own pockets to worry about little things like the economy. Until that changes there is going to be economic stagnation at the heart of the EU Zone.