Wu Yikang

EU constitutional process is the only way of European political integration, and it is an important result of EU's eastward expansion. After more than three years of top-down brewing, consultation and extensive discussion, the text of the European Constitutional Treaty has been carefully formulated, which basically reflects the mainstream ideas of European political elites, is the crystallization of compromise and reconciliation of the interests and needs of the 27 member States and candidate countries of the European Union, and can become an unprecedented legal document with the dual characteristics of constitutionality and international treaties in the implementation of European regional governance at this stage. If the EU Constitutional Treaty is ratified and comes into effect, it can be used for at least ten years in the operation of the supranational EU system and mechanism, which is undoubtedly a milestone in the institutional innovation of the EU regional governance model.

From May to June, 25, France and the Netherlands voted against the European Constitutional Treaty one after another, which led to the constitutional crisis in the European Union and forced the ratification process of the European Constitutional Treaty to be delayed. The so-called "political earthquake in the EU" has caused great shock inside and outside the EU. Some people think that the European Constitutional Treaty has been declared dead, some people have judged that the EU will be paralyzed, and some people even threaten that the collapse of the euro will be affected. Even Popo's European integration will sink back to the free trade area model. There are various alarmists and doubts. How do you know and judge this EU constitutional crisis? What impact will it have on the process of European integration? What is the future direction of EU integration? This paper makes a brief comment to teach academic colleagues.

1.

From the perspective of the development law of European integration, this crisis is a serious setback for EU integration. It has not affected the normal operation of the current EU operation, nor will it lead to the suspension and reversal of integration. The crisis reflects a concentrated outbreak of potential conflicts in EU integration, fully exposes the serious gap between elite Europe and citizen Europe, and directly attacks the blueprint and optimistic process of EU enlargement planned by European political elites. European integration has been dominated by elite Europe for more than half a century. It has felt the pressure of "democratic deficit" and put forward the task of building a civil Europe. However, the lack of sufficient public opinion base in this constitution-making exposes the shocking gap between elite Europe and civil Europe, which makes political elites clearly realize that they have always thought they are spokesmen for public interests and can represent public opinion. The crisis reveals the "endorsement crisis" and widens the potential gap, making them realize the urgency and necessity of earnestly summing up and deeply reflecting, and should make great efforts to coordinate and effectively handle the fundamental traditional contradiction of expanding and deepening this integration. Therefore, from the perspective of sustainable and healthy development of EU integration, the crisis is not necessarily a bad thing. Deeply reflecting on what kind of new Europe to build provides an opportunity to organically combine elite Europe and citizen Europe, further strengthen rectification, adjustment and overall coordination, and make EU integration more stable, solid and healthy, which will be more conducive to building a truly new Europe that is sustainable, balanced and coordinated and more in line with the characteristics of the times.

The crisis of EU constitution-making must not be misjudged as a general suspicion and denial of European integration, and we should not be too pessimistic and negative about the crisis. This is based on the current world economic and political situation, such as the accelerated development of globalization, the trend of regional integration all over the world, the increasingly fierce international competition and the accelerated division and reorganization of the international power structure. Imagine that only by uniting can European countries protect themselves and strengthen themselves. No EU member state or candidate can benefit from the paralysis and collapse of the EU, and denying EU integration will lose Europe's position and role in today's world. All EU countries, including Britain, are soberly aware of this.

of course, the process of European integration has never been straight and smooth, and the founder of the European body let? Monet once said: "Europe will be built in the crisis." More than 2 years ago, the author specially studied and demonstrated various crises in Europe, and thought that "the intensification of contradictions and frequent setbacks often lead to crises, threatening the foundation of integration, basic achievements or the normal operation of the same body ... History has proved that the same body can survive the crisis again and again, get rid of the crisis, and move on along the road of integration ... It seems that Europe is doomed to suffer. (1) History is a mirror. It is predicted that this constitutional crisis will turn around as usual. With the concerted efforts of member States, we can find a way out to compromise and win, so that the EU can be reborn in the fire.

2.

This constitutional crisis not only has deep roots, but also involves a series of fundamental issues such as the nature, direction, objectives, borders, model and future of the European Union, as well as various contradictions and differences that are complicated and overlapping. A serious summary and profound reflection will surely lead to a large-scale discussion and debate with a wide range, complex contents and intense and diverse forms. The balance of ideas and propositions and the balance of gains and losses of various interests make it difficult to easily coordinate the contradictions between new and old member States, between large and small member States, and between different groups and regions. It is by no means a short-term thing to get rid of the crisis. The EU will

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① World History No.7 in 1986.

Enter a wandering period of political exploration and interest adjustment.

the root of the crisis comes from social and economic problems, and the key to the crisis relief also depends on the economic situation to some extent. As far as things are concerned, the trigger of the constitutional crisis stems from the fact that a considerable number of citizens in France and the Netherlands are dissatisfied with the status quo and worried about the prospects of social economy and welfare protection such as unemployment and immigration. From the basic background, many countries in the European Union, including France and the Netherlands, have been in a depressed economic situation for many years, and their financial and economic situation has been in trouble. From the government to the ordinary people, they have become preoccupied with shallow gains and losses, which has led to repeated contradictions and disputes. Generally speaking, there is always a price to pay for integration, and it is easier to win by compromise if you are tolerant and generous. The history of European integration has shown that when the economic situation is booming, the people are rich with sufficient financial resources, and the pace of integration will be smooth and the development will be fast; It seems to be a law that when the economic situation is stagnant and the contradictions are entangled, the pace of integration is blocked and the progress is sluggish. At present, it is no accident that the integration is unfavorable to carry out radical and rash actions, and the constitutional crisis is also linked to the financial budget crisis. Whether the crisis can be solved depends not only on the wisdom, ability and courage of political elites, but also on whether the economic situation of EU countries can get out of the doldrums and improve the financial situation of some countries. Promoting the process of integration needs a strong economic pull, especially in times of crisis.

an important principle of European integration is to pursue balance, pay attention to balance and pay attention to coordination. This constitutional crisis has caused political elites to reflect deeply, and it is impossible to avoid the question of whether the EU enlargement has gone too fast, too fast and too far. Therefore, getting rid of the crisis will inevitably affect the planning and implementation process of EU enlargement, and it will inevitably be restricted and affected in terms of the boundary and speed of further expansion. The construction of a truly new Europe is a long-term and arduous grand undertaking. At a critical moment, we should pay attention to the balance and balance in all aspects, and ask for more in-depth and meticulous coordination and adjustment. From a long-term and fundamental point of view, it is not necessarily a frustrating bad thing to pause and do a good job in adjustment and coordination. Awakened a "big European dream", making big Europe more realistic, making the system and mechanism of new Europe more coordinated and effective, taking a step back is to take two steps, at least for better progress.

This crisis will also have a great impact on the political reorganization in France, the geopolitical reform in Europe, and even the European-Russian relations and the European-American relations, which may promote a new political reshuffle, so I won't discuss it in detail here.

Third,

The constitutional crisis in the European Union is of fundamental importance, and the outbreak of the crisis has led to many discussions on the future of the European Union, which is not only reasonable but also necessary. European integration has gone through more than half a century, which is only a moment in the long river of history. European integration still has a long and tortuous journey to go. In fact, strictly speaking, a series of fundamental questions about the EU's objectives, nature, borders and mode have never been clearly concluded. Many aspects have been controversial and obvious from the beginning. European elites may be forced to be vague and deliberately create ambiguity, which may be beneficial to shelve disputes and facilitate compromise. It is not surprising, therefore, that the EU has been hotly debated on the above-mentioned basic issues at every opportunity. It can be expected. With the development of European integration and the enlargement of the European Union, these disputes and differences will continue all the time. The same is true of the disputes and differences caused by the constitutional crisis, which is likely to add more uncertainty. This situation is difficult and inconvenient to solve. Perhaps it is because of these disputes and differences that European integration can continue to grow and develop and move forward step by step. Based on various conditions, it is difficult for the author to further elaborate on these issues, and only talk about some superficial personal understanding and judgments on some signs and outstanding problems caused by the constitutional crisis recently.

The crisis has intensified the struggle for dominance within the EU. The crisis has dealt a heavy blow to Chirac's power position. In recent years, the axis between France and Germany has become loose, and when France and Germany are facing regime change, it is even more difficult for Chirac and Schroeder to make great achievements. In this situation, Britain assumes the rotating presidency, which can be imagined as a good opportunity for Blair to show his talents. It doesn't matter if Britain grabs power, but at least Britain will strive to play an active leading role, win over like-minded people and try to influence the direction of EU integration in the past six months or even longer. In the process of core Europe's differentiation and reorganization, the original Franco-German axis is difficult to adapt to the new European situation, and the power combination will change. How to find the best member collocation of core Europe may have new plays to sing.

The crisis has profoundly exposed all kinds of imbalances within the EU. With the increase of member countries, it is bound to become increasingly difficult to coordinate. The reform of the EU's operating mechanism is likely to provide legal convenience for multi-speed Europe. A big Europe may inevitably need to be based on multi-speed Europe, which will be the way for the survival and development of a new Europe.

The crisis has not denied the EU, blocking integration, unable to block the process of European integration, and EU integration is irreversible. However, the real solution of this constitutional crisis still needs to go through quite difficult years. If the crisis can be regarded as an opportunity and become a driving force for change, then recent years will undoubtedly be a very critical period for the development of the EU integration process. If handled well, the EU will have broad prospects, and its internal cohesion and external radiation will be strengthened. If it is not handled well, the EU may be stuck in a trough for several years.