Graham Watson proposes a "Super Poll" for EU-wide referendum after a pause for reflection

Graham Watson, our regional member of the European Parliament writes..."It's been a more than usually interesting week in Brussels: or, as in my case, in Brussels and in Warsaw and back in Brussels again.

Graham Watson MEP, leader Liberal Democrat Group in European Parliament

But before I write about the French and Dutch No votes in their referenda on the EU Constitution, let me give you two pieces of information about recent developments which may serve to enlighten debate.

Did you know, for example, that the EU's defence ministers meet regularly to review and update the Union's military capabilities? Its mechanised infantry battalions, its ground capabilities, its operational headquarters plans, etc. At their last review a fortnight ago they noted with satisfaction that there will be three EU 'battle groups' established in 2005, another three in 2006, a further three in 2007 and four new groups in 2008. These are multinational units of 1500 men each, deployable within 15 days in peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance tasks. It may not be called a European Army, but in effect it is.

Did you know that the Council of Ministers discussed 116,181 documents in 2004? These documents detail what could perfectly reasonably be described as an EU government. The Council of Ministers is composed of ministers and civil servants from 25 countries working together, sure. But EU government nonetheless. (I am pleased to note in passing that thanks to the freedom of information rules I steered through parliament in 2001, two thirds of all those documents were made directly accessible to the public via the web immediately on publication. To view the register of the 68,966 new documents from 2004 to which you have access go to http://register.consilium.eu.int .

I use these two very different examples to show how far European Union has already proceeded. The Constitution which the Spanish voted 72% Yes to and the French 55% No - and which nine other countries have ratified while one other, the Netherlands, has declined - is designed to make the EU more democratic and more transparent so that people can see what the EU is. Those who voted against, like the young Frenchman you saw on TV celebrating the Constitution's defeat with the words "now we can build a really democratic Europe" have in fact voted to keep things as opaque as they are.

Perhaps the new Constitution comes too late. Perhaps the message from the French and Dutch voters is that they no longer trust their political leaders to do things in the name of their country at EU level, because those leaders have failed miserably to explain how the EU is changing, what it is becoming and why they have no choice but to pool their sovereignty with others if they are to provide the security, prosperity and opportunities in life which citizens expect government to provide.

The EU has certainly been given a slap on the left cheek by the French and on the right by the Dutch. I hope it will serve to awaken our leaders from their torpor and come clean with people about the limits to national sovereignty. If national governments continue to take the credit when things go well and to blame 'Brussels' when things go badly they will find it impossible to gain public support for what they need to do together.

How do we get over the breakdown of trust? I've called for a freeze on ratification by referendum until Nov 2007 (which means a delay of one year in the deadline for ratification, currently 30 Nov 2006), to allow all those countries who plan referenda to hold them on the same day (1 Nov 2007) right across the EU. That way we might get a truly European debate rather than a series of disjointed national debates. And by then Chirac will be out of the way and the French and the Dutch can think again. Meantime, their national leaders have some explaining to do. (For my statement in yesterday's meeting of party leaders with Commission President Barroso after the Dutch No, please visit;

http://www.grahamwatsonmep.org/news/103.html?PHPSESSID=251eba8f9cdd0c61eb9b8d923224f9b7

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I was in Warsaw from Monday pm to Wednesday am because the EP's Liberal Democrat MEPs met there this week, to discuss with the Poles how their membership of the EU is going. As their President Alexander Kwasniewski told me, the answer depends on who you talk to. Poland must be the only country where the people would vote Yes while their MPs would vote No. It's a country full of contradictions.