02 November, 2007

Constitutional Fiasco

It won't surprise many people, I fear. The leaders of the 27 European nations are going down to Lisbon in December, Foreign Ministers too, to sign the Constitution. But the ceremony is scheduled for the same day as the Council of Ministers, to be held in Brussels. Why not do everything in Lisbon? Because Brussels gets all sorts of financial incentives for meetings being held there. So much for the esprit comunautaire. The politicos will sign, raise a glass of taxpayer funded bubbly to each other and then all fly in separate planes to Brussels for another freebie.

These signing arrangements are redolent of the Constitution itself: something for the political class to feather its own nest at the expense of the people.

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