EU terug naar Grote Onduidelijkheid
De Europese regeringsleiders hebben klare taal ingeruild gelul in de ruimte. Zo moet het compromis over de Europese Grondwet die geen grondwet mag heten in ieder geval gezien worden, stelt Gideon Rachman in zijn column in de Financial Times:
EU leaders began their meeting with a constitutional text. Then, over many hours, they added endless footnotes, protocols and “clarifications”, which became more important than the original text itself.
The result is almost impossible to read or understand. And that is entirely intentional. Many things happened at the summit. But perhaps the most important was that the EU finally abandoned the idea that it wants ordinary Europeans to understand what it is doing. (Emphasis mine, RG)
Als je het gepeupel een beetje dom houdt heb je er minder last van, soort van. Rachman gaat verder met:
The abandonment of “transparency” brings the EU full circle to where it began when the idea of writing a constitution was dreamt up six years ago. Back then it was conventional wisdom that one of the Union’s biggest problems was that European citizens found it so hard to understand. Why not simplify the complex mess of interlocking treaties and incomprehensible language into a single, readable document?
Big mistake. It turned out that once Europeans were told what the EU was really doing, they were often horrified. The new, admirably transparent constitution was rejected by large majorities in referendums in France and the Netherlands in 2005.
It was as if a manufacturer of tinned meat had suddenly decided that it would be a good idea to put a large notice on the front of the tin, stating: “This product contains reconstituted cows’ udders.” How surprising and hurtful that sales should fall as a result.
Het is mooi opgeschreven, maar volgens mij zit Rachman er helemaal naast. Zoveel mensen hebben de Europese Grondwet toen niet gelezen, behalve Steeph van Sargasso natuurlijk.
Waarschijnlijk is het eerder zo dat een opleving van de pro-Europese sentimenten toen leidde tot de opstelling van de vrij leesbare Grondwet. Nu staan nationale belangen weer voorop, en ieder land heeft aan elke paragraaf uit de Grondwet extra eisen gehangen. Uit pragmatische overwegingen zijn de regeringsvertegenwoordigers daar maar mee verder gegaan, waardoor we nu een onleesbaar stuk hebben.
(Via NRC’s weblog Wereld)
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