YES to the Europe I want; NO to this one.” Some Reflections on France's Rejection of the EU Constitution

Bibliographic Data

ID7945890
AuthorsHenry Milner (0000-0002-2261-5829, SUNY Plattsburgh, corresponding author)
Year2006
Volume39
Issue2
Pages257-260
Publication date2006-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePS Political Science & Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1049-0965 • E-ISSN: 1537-5935
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1049096506060392
OpenAlexW2073689558
LanguageEN
Citations received10

I spent the 2004–2005 academic year in France, culminating with the May 29 th referendum on the European Union constitutional treaty. Fifty-five percent of voters rejected it. Three days later, 62% of Dutch voters followed suit. These were unexpected results, especially in France, a country where 80% declare themselves in favor of European integration. In other member states, a simple rule generally applies: those whose priority is to strengthen the EU are on the “yes” side, while the “no” is identified with those who emphasize national interests. In the Netherlands, though the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh by an Islamic radical was a factor, the “no” forces won essentially because they persuaded enough people that the direction the Constitution would take the Netherlands went against Dutch interests. To do so, they played on the resentment that Brussels took their money but ignored Dutch concerns—“the same people who fooled you with the euro are fooling you now with this constitution

Constitution · Economic history · Economics · European union · Political science · Politics · Referendum · Resentment · Treaty · European and International Law Studies · European Union Policy and Governance · History · Law

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub