January 30, 2005
The EU Constitution
What does really this (in)famous constitution says, at the end of the day? After realizing (via Darth Misha) that most of the Europeans know next to nothing about it, I thought it would be a good idea to provide a quick link to the real text of the constitution, and possibly a synopsys and commentary.
The first task is easy: the whole constitution can be found here (a page of the official site europa.eu.int) as a series of PDF files, one per chapter.
The synopsys and commentary will be a work-in-progress, but I can start with some considerations. First, this European Constitution is preposterously long: it totals more than 465 pages - although the juice is concentrated in the first 200(sic) or so. Probably for being a scientist/engineer, I prefer short and to the point documents. Those too long probably are either loaded with... manure or deal with issues that they should instead leave alone.
I think this constitutional draft falls in the second category: from the very beginning, it says that the EU must undertake certain policies and a certain stances - like sustainable development. I talks (or babbles) endlessly about values such a closer union, peaceful future and diversity. Then it proceeds to prohibit the death penalty, human cloning and sets "the prohibition on making the human body and its parts as such a source of financial gain" and so on.
I am not saying that alle of those values are certainly negative or something like that, but I do not think it's the role of a constitution to set such strict guidelines for the policies of a country. It may happen that a state needs to go to war, or resolve particular internal situations that require the use of force, for example. Not to mention The Will of The People, that should be the only source for the legitimacy of a government. While the underlying idea so popular among the European elites is that governments are self-legitimating.
I think I will proceed with my analysis in another post, because I feel like this one is getting confusing. Besides, I should read at least Part I and II of the constitution in a more organic manner.
The first task is easy: the whole constitution can be found here (a page of the official site europa.eu.int) as a series of PDF files, one per chapter.
The synopsys and commentary will be a work-in-progress, but I can start with some considerations. First, this European Constitution is preposterously long: it totals more than 465 pages - although the juice is concentrated in the first 200(sic) or so. Probably for being a scientist/engineer, I prefer short and to the point documents. Those too long probably are either loaded with... manure or deal with issues that they should instead leave alone.
I think this constitutional draft falls in the second category: from the very beginning, it says that the EU must undertake certain policies and a certain stances - like sustainable development. I talks (or babbles) endlessly about values such a closer union, peaceful future and diversity. Then it proceeds to prohibit the death penalty, human cloning and sets "the prohibition on making the human body and its parts as such a source of financial gain" and so on.
I am not saying that alle of those values are certainly negative or something like that, but I do not think it's the role of a constitution to set such strict guidelines for the policies of a country. It may happen that a state needs to go to war, or resolve particular internal situations that require the use of force, for example. Not to mention The Will of The People, that should be the only source for the legitimacy of a government. While the underlying idea so popular among the European elites is that governments are self-legitimating.
I think I will proceed with my analysis in another post, because I feel like this one is getting confusing. Besides, I should read at least Part I and II of the constitution in a more organic manner.
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