So the “amended treaty” which was agreed last week IS NOT an EU Constitution because it makes no reference to things like an anthem, flag…basically anything that makes the EU look like an “United States of Europe”. So since it is just a treaty designed to tidy up existing legislation then we have no need to worry, no need to even consider something like a referendum on the matter.

That is a good solution for the politicians, but a bad call for the citizens. Already it has been commented by our own Mr Ahern that 90% of the original constitution is in this amended treaty, thus leading us further down the road of a more centralised EU with the governments in each state enacting and enforcing the legislation drawn up in Brussels.

The MEP’s that sit in Brussels are elected there by us, the citizen, essentially through representative democracy. So, like any election, one should vote for the party or person who best represents one’s own personal views. But, since the elections are dumbed down to the lowest common dominator, essentially how much cash you have in your wallet at the end of the weekend as a means to get re-elected, we end up with a government that does not represent our personal views but instead is acting like a corporation out to make the best profits at the expense of our long term interests.

This would be somewhat our own fault when it comes to the EU if the majority of us were voting, but guess what? We are not. For the EU elections in 2004 average turnout across the the EU was 45.6%, with lows of 21% in Poland and 17% in Slovakia! The first Nice Treaty that got voted against here by those following what was going on had a turn out of 35.4%. While the YES vote for the constitutional treaty in Spain had a massive 76.7% for – though only 42.3% of the people voted.

As can be seen, we have an EU moving forward not just with a large minority of people uninvolved, but with the MAJORITY of citizens uninvolved. Do you remember what the government had to say about the EU and enlargement and the increasing influence of the European Parliament during the last election…just last month…anybody?

I am increasingly worried about the centralisation of power ,never-mind any government believing it can micro-manage our lives from the other side of the country, let alone from Brussels. Government is supposed to be a tool for the people. Not a thorn in our side. If the best thing we can say about the EU is that they have built us some good roads, maybe we should take a longer harder look at what is going on. We all want free trade and travel, but has this really been achieved?

I take some comfort in one truth…centralised government in Europe has always failed. Every attempt in the past has fallen apart. Except for one…a King named Charlemagne united Europe under the banner of “The Holy Roman Empire”. He succeeded by not centralising Europe but by dividing up the various cultures in Europe, then making each country write down their laws and customs, thus leaving no doubt as to how they could work with one another and essentially letting them run themselves. The “civil service” buildings he constructed then to run this Empire are still used to this day in some parts of Europe…and that was the the latter half of the 9^th Century AD! The Europe we know today and recognise on the map was largely of his creation.

But lets face reality…those who are pushing forward with the “United States of Europe” model are not doing it for the benefit of you and I, it is so this “U.S.E.” can sit at a table across from the future superpowers of the world (India, China, USA) and claim to have some influence. Most of us though can see that this influence is disappearing like sand through our fingers.

As Napoleon said, “Never disturb your enemy while he is making a mistake”