Europe: A Time for Choosing

Fire of Liberty

Gerard Baker has a interesting piece in the May 30, 2005 issue of The Weekly Standard on the upcoming EU Constitution vote in France and the Netherlands. In the same vein as John O'Sullivan, Baker has written a good article on the major implications of the Constitution on the various member states and how it will effect the relationship between Europe and the United States. While Baker has laid out several good points throughout his article, I found these two paragraphs to be the most persuasive arguments for an outright rejection of the EU Constitution:

The key here is to remain focused on what the constitution would actually do. The constitution, in short, represents another big step toward a single European state. That state would not be, in spite of the fears whipped up by French socialists, some hideous model of Anglo-Saxon economic liberalism, but one firmly entrenched in the traditional European social-market model, one that would offer broad protections to workers and give pan-European regulators all kinds of new scope to practice their authority. It was designed, at least in part, to turn back the push, from new members in the East and from Britain, for freer markets and a more competitive business environment. In the political sphere, the constitution would generate a new impetus towards a single, unified European view in world affairs that would give considerable support to the Franco-German ambition to rebalance global power away from the United States--and it would limit the ability of individual European nations to support the United States.

In short, if you think that what Europe needs is more regulation, more social protection, and less competition; if you think it needs to build up and strengthen the supranational state with political institutions accountable to almost no one; and if you think the world needs a united Europe led by a narrow group of politicians intent on challenging U.S. power, then you are definitely hoping the constitution beats the odds and clears all the popular hurdles that await it in the next year. If, on the other hand, you doubt the merits of that sort of Europe, you may be offering a silent prayer, perhaps for the first time in your life, that you are in solidarity with a majority of French opinion at least for one day this coming weekend.

Yes, I'll actually be pulling for the French people in the weekend referendum. I might not like France (at least the cultural elites) but I'd prefer a independent and sovereign France rather than the EU superstate.