TALLINN - When I heard the news about the latest Estonian coalition agreement, I was pretty much gobstopped; I didn't believe it at first.
But it turns out to be accurate; see Eesti Päevaleht Online April 12, and Delfi.ee (only in Estonian, unfortunately).
The gist of it is, for us English speakers; with the new ruling coalition of the Reform, Center and People's Union parties, the parties have agreed in principle to allow the Estonian people to vote to accept or reject the European Constitution.
What's this all mean? A date hasn't been set for the vote, and it's a fair assumption that it will take place long after France's referendum. The way the latest polls are going in that country, the Estonian vote might be a moot point.
But I think it's a great victory for this country's democracy. Yes, roughly two-thirds of Estonians voted to join the EU last year, but I've met very, very few locals that have actually been enthusiastic about the idea. Instead, the consequences of a "no" vote, which would have left Estonia isolated in Europe and subject to the whims of its larger neighbors was the driving force behind in '94 vote. Estonians, especially the young, want the freedom to travel and live abroad, and they're starting to get that under the current system.
Otherwise, EU membership has been less than a bowl of cherries. Estonia, which has been hyped as a model of economic freedom since the mid-'90s, has had to raise tariffs since joining last year, which has driven the cost of staple items such as gasoline and sugar up. It's also had to import thousands of EU regulations.
I have no idea how Estonians will vote in such a plebiscite, and I'm looking forward to the first opinion polls on the issue. It's also unclear what brought this issue up in the coalition negotiations; it hasn't come up in the press as yet. The only thing I can think of is that the Center Party (No. 2 in the new coalition) came out against EU membership (rather clumsily, at the 11th hour, losing political support in the process, since all the other parties were in favor of it), in the runup to the vote, and they decided to push the issue to the voters. But that's just my guess.
Personally, I think open borders and free trade is a great goal, and one that the EU needs to pursue. The other stuff, like subjugating foreign policy to Brussels can wait a generation or two. Does anybody believe that France is going to fight for a free Estonia, if the issue would come up? Not here, from what I've seen.
For me, a Constitution should set out the framework -- not inscribe economic, social and labor policy for generations, which essentially the EU Constitution attempts. You don't have to look much farther than the preamble to get a taste of what this laundry list is like.
I have a copy of the American Constitution on my shelf, and its introduction is one you can quote by heart:
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, 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.Now, compare it to the European Constitution preamble, which I would provide here, but for the length... ( Here is the link:
http://europa.eu.int/constitut... )
And it just gets worse from there. Read the whole thing, if you dare.
But hey, Estonians get to decide. And that's a rare enough phenomenon in Europe that it is worth celebrating.
