Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-12-12-Speech-3-018"
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"en.20071212.2.3-018"2
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"Mr President, again today many talk grandly about European values of democracy. Today we will have a pretentious affirmation of a belief in human rights yet, at the same time, the EU elite are preparing to celebrate their greatest stroke of arrogance to date as they make ready to sign the repackaged Constitution without a backward glance towards their people and what they want or what they think.
The 2005 referendums showed Europe to be out of touch, but the lesson learned was not to abandon what the people did not want but to circumvent their opposition by determining this time not to ask them. Hence the scandal that, across this continent, national powers will be stripped away, superstate structures will be established, a new EU citizenship will be created, legal personality will be bestowed on the EU and only a handful of citizens will ever be asked.
Why? Because in most states, my own included, the leaders fear the verdict of their people, adding cowardice to their arrogance. So on a day when there is much talk of human rights, I say: Give the people of Europe the basic political and human right to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to this Constitution, the right to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in a referendum."@en1
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