A Spectre Haunting Europe: The European Constitution, the Budget Crisis, and the Limits of Neoliberal Integration

Abstract

The rejection of the European Draft Constitution by voters in France and Holland created a crisis in Europe. The dilemma, however is rooted in the deeper issues concerning democracy, neoliberalism, and the division of wealth among classes in European society. The draft constitution would have locked in the principles of neoliberalism and guaranteed rights for capital over those of citizens. Beyond the question of the lack of grass roots democracy European social welfare guarantees are threatened. Capitalist accumulation is rendered as a technical question to be determined by technocrats and business enterprises, rather than a political question at the heart of democracy. The vote against the constitution was not a vote against a united and social Europe, but against a Europe united on the basis of the American model of enshrining capitalist accumulation as the be all and end all of human endeavor. The crisis in Europe has revealed the limits to neoliberal integration in Europe.

Keywords

Europe, Constitution, France, Holland, Neoliberalism

Citation

Girdner, Eddie J., “A Spectre Haunting Europe: The European Constitution, the Budget Crisis, and the Limits of Neoliberal Integration”, International Relations, Volume 2, Issue 7 (Fall 2005), pp. 63-85.

Affiliations

• Eddie J. Girdner, Prof. Dr., Başkent University, Department of Political Science and International Relations