My own copy of the EU Constitution

I received my copy of the EU Constitution today. {Just sent an e-mail to the EU Parliament's office in Dublin asking for a copy and they sent it to me. You can download it in PDF format here.}

Wow, is it long. I didn't really know what to expect, but I somehow doubt I'll ever read the whole thing. I'm no expert on constitutions, but this one is clearly not written with the expectation that the average citizen will read it. I've only read and re-read the preamble and the best I can say about it is that it reads as if it is a mission statement for an organization that really doesn't know what its mission is.

DRAWING inspiration from the cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe, from which have developed the universal values of the inviolable and inalienable rights of the human person, democracy, equality, freedom and the rule of law,

BELIEVING that Europe, reunited after bitter experiences, intends to continue along the path of civilisation, progress and prosperity, for the good of all its inhabitants, including the weakest and most deprived; that it wishes to remain a continent open to culture, learning and social progress; and that it wishes to deepen the democratic and transparent nature of its public life, and to strive for peace, justice and solidarity throughout the world,

CONVINCED that, while remaining proud of their own national identities and history, the peoples of Europe are determined to transcend their ancient divisions and, united ever more closely, to forge a common destiny,

CONVINCED that, thus "united in its diversity", Europe offers them the best chance of pursuing, with due regard for the rights of each individual and in awareness of their responsibilities towards future generations and the Earth, the great venture which makes of it a special area of human hope,

DETERMINED to continue the work accomplished within the framework of the Treaties establishing the European Communities and the Treaty on European Union, by ensuring the continuity of the Community acquis,

GRATEFUL to the members of the European Convention for having prepared the draft of this Constitution on behalf of the citizens and States.

The preamble to the US Constitution is much shorter:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The US Constitution was hardly flawless. It contained one almighty compromise (& contradiction) that eventually led to the Civil War and more than a million dead Americans. Still, I love the fact that the first three words are "We the people". There's no sense in this EU Constitution that this document is intended to create a "government of the people, by the people, for the people".

There are plenty of compromises and contradictions here too. I suspect that the provisions of Part III, Title V could cause some problem. How do you square, "The Member States shall support the common foreign and security policy actively and unreservedly in a spirit of loyalty and mutual solidarity" with Irish neutrality, for instance.

Those compromises and the length and excessive amount of detail in this Constitution – Part III, Title III, Chapter V, Section 4 deals with tourism, for example – hardly bode well for the Constitution's longevity. I wonder if it will be voted down for simply being too complex.