>In most aspects Europe is democratic enough, but we leave >the decision making to the elected parliament. Ireland has a national >referendum, but the government did not dare to put the euro on the line.
This is not correct. Joining the common currency was part of the Maastricht Treaty, not the more recent Nice Treaty (the non-euro EU countries obtained specific opt-out clauses with respect to the Maastricht Treaty when they ratified it). Ireland *did* hold a referendum on Maastricht, and joining the common currency was very much acknowledged as part of it. In the event, the referendum was carried, and most of the opposition was due to neutrality issues rather than the currency. Unfortunately, Only Ireland, France & Denmark allowed its people a say in this very fundamental change (an issue which is far more important than weights & measures). >If Europe was as democratic as the USA is, we would never have had the euro. I think this is unnecessarily deafeatest. If the Irish and French people could be convinced, so could most others. And even if some didn't go ahead (which happened in the case of 3), then the project could still proceed, and its success might cause public opinion in the countries opting out to change (as polls suggest is happening now in Sweden). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tom Wade, EuroKom | E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (all domain mailers). Dale House | X400: g=tom;s=wade;o=eurokom;p=eurokom;a=eirmail400;c=ie 30, Dale Road | Tel: +353 (1) 278-7878 Stillorgan | Fax: +353 (1) 278-7879 Co Dublin | Disclaimer: This is not a disclaimer Ireland | Tip: "Friends don't let friends do Unix !"
