It is official get to grips with Europe week in national newspaper land. France holds its referendum on the new constitution on 29 May, leaving us six days to read the thing. That might just about suffice, but its pretty heavy going. We recommend the summary that comes in at a slimline 15 pages.
There is plenty of commentary in the dailies, although by far the most interesting item is an interview with Daniel Cohn-Bendit in the Independent. Cohn-Bendit was a radical leader in the Paris student-worker revolt of 1968. He is now a Green MEP, articulate pro-European and all round uber-clever bloke.
He has some good analysis of what is going on in France, and suggests, in passing, that Britain's pro-European camp might do well to remind the majority of voters opposed to the war in Iraq and other features of US foreign policy that the EU is their only credible, democratic hope for a strategic alternative to US domination.
Of course, since a Gallic 'non' followed by Dutch 'nee' would probably derail the whole constitution project, the 'yes' lobby here will not open its mouth until the results from France are in, which is understandable as a tactical approach. Besides, why abandon the noble tradition of Britain's political Europhiles, who like nothing better than a cowardly retreat from the argument in the hope that somehow it will go away of its own accord.
