And Now for the Debate

DR Nyheder Online - EU - Den danske EU-afstemning udskydes

As expected and predicted - not the least here - the European Council decided to put the ratification of the Constitutional Treaty on ice, thus de facto saying it will never come into force in the present form or shape.

For Denmark, PM Fogh Rasmussen decided that the referendum planned for September 27 will not take place.

That was the only possible decision - in spite of all the contrary talks during the past two weeks.

Now, it seems as these discussions will not be taken up in earnest until after the presidential election in France and the parliamentary election in the Netherlands in 2007. That's also perfectly logical and sound.

In the meantime, there must be a pan-European debate on where we are heading. Too many might have rushed too fast into the European Convention that produced this Constitutional Treaty. That mistake must not be repeated.

The issues must be integrated into the national debates in a way that has not been the case so far. In Sweden, this means that the European issues will have to figure prominently in the campaign for the September 2006 parliamentary elections.

All in all not too bad.