Nosemonkey's EUtopia

In search of a European identity

New EU blog and thoughts on the French referendum

I hadn’t spotted EU Rota before, and it seems to be literate, which makes a nice change. It has a couple of interesting posts on the French constitutional referendum, especially here, which makes some points I’ve been pondering:

Regardless of the outcome on 29 May, the EU will continue to function. The Euro will continue to be the currency of the Eurozone. France will still be at the heart of the EU. Brussels should beware of fearmongering and “setting everyones hair on fire” with dire predictions based on a French “Non.”

I’m planning a big post on this when I’ve got time. Meanwhile, have something I’ve just written at Commissioner Wallstrom’s place (link fixed):

It has to be said, the more I think about this whole situation, the more I reckon that if any country votes “No”, France is the ideal choice.

In short: I still think that passing the constitution would be a good thing, despite its flaws, but better a country not previously considered especially Eurosceptic voicing issues than somewhere like Britain, where it will be incredibly easy for the rest of the EU to simply put it down to “typical” British petty nationalism/bloody-mindedness, and thus not feel the need to address the main concerns.

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