Europe really needs a decent constitution. Enlargement to twenty five members next year will put unprecedented pressure on a system that is already wheezing and shaking. The constitution contains many changes to procedures that are boring to the uninitiated but essential to streamlining the European Union (EU). It will also rationalise the sprawling legal framework.
The current draft contains many measures that eurosceptics have been demanding for years. It allows countries to withdraw voluntarily from the Union. It sets limits on the powers of the institutions. It provides a list of areas that are wholly matters for nation-states to decide within their own borders. And it states clearly that the Union draws its powers from member states, not the other way around. But none of these welcome improvements has appeared in hostile press coverage.