ROBERT KLUBA / EDITING NON! Socialists nurse their wounds as the referendum results come in

SPECIAL REPORT     Brussels Burnout
	The French and the Dutch have rejected the E.U. constitution and spurned their political leaders. Where does Europe go from here?
	By JAMES GRAFF / Paris

Posted Sunday, June 5, 2005; 11.57 BST
They didn't have much in common. those who welcomed the rejection of the European constitution by France and the Netherlands last week included Roman Giertych, leader of the archconservative League of Polish Families, who thinks the document isn't Christian enough; Arlette Laguiller, France's perennial Trotskyite presidential candidate, who suggests that European workers should now rise up in a general insurrection against exploitative bosses; Serb ultranationalist Tomislav Nikolic, whose Radical Party is led by an indicted war criminal, Vojislav Seselj, who said the vote was proof that Serbia should "not jump every time Brussels tells them to"; French Socialist Henri Emmanuelli, who hailed the "power of popular sovereignty" that prevailed against his own party leadership; and Marianne Thieme of the Dutch Party for Animals, who claimed that the Dutch vote left "animal-rights organizations standing stronger in negotiating a better treaty."

At least the animal lovers know what they want to do now; it's not clear anyone else does. The votes in France and the Netherlands last week brought to a screeching halt the movement toward an "ever closer union," one to which European nations have supposedly been committed since the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957. French and Dutch voters flocked to the polling booths to reject the constitution with stunning clarity: the no camp had majorities of 55% in France and 62% in the Netherlands; turnout was 69% and 63%, respectively. "It's a fundamental revolution," says Charles Grant, director of the London-based Centre for European Reform. "Nothing has changed, but everything has changed, and no one knows what comes next."

That uncertainty is what happens when you let people vote on their future. For years, those who care most about the European Union have been worried about its "democratic deficit" the sense that decisions that affect millions of lives are taken in closed-door meetings bereft of clear lines of accountability.

Now the Dutch and the French have had their say. Fearful of globalization, tired of paying into a Brussels bureaucracy to which they never really warmed, unsure of the European Union's purpose and extent, voters spurned their major parties and turned their backs on the grand designs of their political leaders. At the weekend in Berlin, a hastily arranged summit between French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder ended with the declaration that ratification in other states must continue, "so that the views of each country are represented," according to a spokesman for the German government. But this flies in the face of reality. It may be a cliché, but the people have spoken. To pretend that they said yes when they really said no or to hope that, if given enough chances, they will say yes one day would be to court even more popular disdain for Europe's political leaders than is already there.

Those leaders now have to make sense of a vote that had no coherence. Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende concluded that "we need to put the project [of the constitution] on hold as far as the Netherlands is concerned," and vowed to slow the pace of integration, reduce the relatively large Dutch contribution to the E.U. budget, and put greater emphasis on the sovereignty of the Union's 25 member states.

Continued ...

Dutch Treat [May 30, 2005] The no camp gains ground in the Netherlands The French Exception [May 30, 2005] As the referendum looms, the French talk a lot about the constitution but not enough about themselves Closer Union Or Superstate? [Jun. 28, 2004] After years of wrangling, E.U. leaders agree on a new constitution. eu'ro'pho'bia [Jun. 9, 2003] A strong fear that giving more power to the E.U. spells doom Room for God? [Jun. 9, 2003] Where's religion's place in the new constitution? Will Britons Have a Say? [Jun. 02, 2003] Europe's new constitution is giving Tony Blair a headache Paperwork [Jun. 23, 2003] Will a new constitution help make the E.U. matter? Valéry Giscard D'Estaing [Jun. 23, 2003] 'To Build a Society, You Need A Sense of Belonging' Romano Prodi [Jun. 23, 2003] 'We Will Never Have a Single European Nation' Is Anybody Listening? [Jun. 7, 2004] How one M.E.P. is trying to convince a wary and apathetic public that the E.U.'s legislature matters Search all issues of TIME Magazine Indicates premium content