Laurent Moyse reveals that "the points that are preventing a new, albeit very watered-down compromise, from being accepted, have little to do with the reasons for refusal given by those who said 'no' [to the Constitution]. ... We are on the verge of seeing a complete dilution of the European Community. Jettisoning principles and values that were hard-fought for over months, those opposed to a treaty have managed to torpedo a project that was far from a cure-all, but had the merit of laying the foundations for improved functioning. They have found unexpected allies whose interests are at times opposed to unity and solidarity in Europe. As for the argument that could be heard two years ago according to which a crisis in Europe would be for its own good, today's reality has proved it wrong. A destructive spirit has never been a good idea." (20/06/2007)

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The Flemish daily argues that the EU cannot be turned into a "United States of Europe. Old nations such as France or Poland cannot be compared to states like Kansas or Ohio. To say this isn't Euroscepticism. Former French minister Elisabeth Guigou, an advocate of European integration, pointed this out at a conference organized by the Friends of Europe in Brussels. ... The heated debates on the European Constitution demonstrate once and for all how it is an illusion to speak of the United States of Europe. ... To act like the Union will grow to become a super-state, like the United States, with a president, a government, a Congress, an army, a foreign policy, not to mention a single language ... demonstrates blindness, not the will to get things done." (20/06/2007)

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The newspaper calls on Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt to bear in mind when he attends the EU summit that for the Swedish nation adding a social component to the EU constitution is of utmost importance: "The charter of fundamental rights is under threat. Among other things it enshrines the fundamental rights of trade unions, such as the right to strike and make wage agreements. The goal is to make this charter legally binding and thus create a counterweight to the forces of the free market. ... As far as social issues and the charter of fundamental rights are concerned, the bulk of the resistance is coming from Great Britain. The Swedish government is playing its cards close and generally going along with Germany's line. However, if Reinfeldt gives in on issues that are important to workers and for a social Europe, he must be aware that he will face war on his return." (20/06/2007)

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László Szöcs considers the consequences should the EU summit fail: "If the summit fails EU institutions will have to continue working according to existing regulations, which would be tantamount to a political slap in the face for the 27 member states, because it would mean the further postponement of institutional reform. Common foreign policy would remain at a rudimentary stage, decisions on domestic and security policy would continue to be hindered by the right of veto and the entire purpose of EU expansion could be called into question. According to the Treaty of Nice no new countries would be able to join. This would block the EU integration of the West Balkans." (20/06/2007)

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David Klimeš analyses the positions of the EU's most vocal critics: "In this imaginary hit parade of Eurosceptics the Dutch win hands down. The political elite that once supported the original constitution has meekly adopted the views expressed by the nation's citizens in the referendum." On Poland's call for the EU's voting system to be changed he writes: "This is a matter for the larger states, principally for Germany. The populist Kaczynskis want more influence - and are trying to sell this strategy as strengthening democracy within the Union. But the most tragic stance is that of the Czechs. Things that are of secondary importance for other states, such as whether the EU flag or Beethoven's melody are conferred constitutional status, are vitally important political issues for the Czechs." (20/06/2007)

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Romania is not participating in the current debate about an EU treaty, Sever Voinescu complains. "Romania is represented on committees in Brussels and is entitled to voice its opinion and vote. But we're provincial islanders living in the furthermost corner of Europe. We are not competent to be an EU member state - the main issues on Europe's agenda are light years beyond us. Romania is completely absent from the discussion about a new draft of the European constitution. ... When Romania's politicians think of the EU, they think of one thing only: funding. We're not interested in assuming responsibility." (19/06/2007)

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Yves Meny, president of the European University Institute in Florence (IUE), notes that faced with radically different opinions of the future of Europe, "a new term is being born to surpass these contradictions. Ulrich Beck and Edgar Grande speak of 'Das Kosmopolitische Europa', which the French (mis)translate as a plea 'for a European empire.' It's also the provocative title of a recent analysis by Jan Zielonka: 'Europe as Empire'. The concept of empire is devilishly seductive since it seems to reconcile all contradictions: centralisation and decentralisation, unity and diversity, force and flexibility. There is only one problem: history has taught us that empires, more than all other political constructions, are fragile. For better or for worse, they are mortal". (19/06/2007)

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In an interview conducted by Weronika Zarachowicz, Indian economist Amartya Sen, awarded the Nobel Prize for economics in 1998, calls the theory of the clash of civilizations developed by Samuel Huntington "poorly conceived, even stupid. ... It's very simple for Islamic fundamentalists to call on this theory in the service of religion and God, and for western governments to do so in defence of our 'civilisation' in danger! Even more so in periods of collective hysteria like those we have experienced since September 11: they have their own momentum and impose their own logic. Remember the First World War and the nationalist obsession felt by the Germans, French and British? The hysteria was so strong that the smallest thing would inflame it. This is the case today with the 'war of civilisations': it was slipped into the collective unconsciousness in the same way that nationalism did in 1914, or the notion of 'race' did in the southern United States during the second half of the 19th Century". (20/06/2007)

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"The visit on Monday [June 18th] to Belfast of Scotland's first minister, the SNP's Alex Salmond, his first foreign trip since he took over as leader of a minority administration, marks an important symbolic first step in what can become a fruitful dialogue that can strengthen the hands of both Mr Salmond and Dr Paisley", notes the daily. "To suggest as the Ulster Unionists did that the meeting represents some kind of 'nationalist trap' is patent nonsense. The two men signed a joint statement pledging to work together on tourism, higher education, transport and the pursuit of a cut in corporation tax. They intend to involve the Welsh administration once the shape of that organisation becomes clear. Mr Salmond is keen to use protocols allowing for joint approaches by ministers from the devolved parliaments in their dealings with Westminster". (20/06/2007)

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The EU decided to invite a Cuban delegation to Brussels, despite the suspension of diplomatic relations that has been going on for four years. The daily considers that "the Spanish government is thus seeing it's open policy towards Castro's regime partially validated. ... Cuba is a communist dictatorship, one of the last. But its evolution and its potential political transition will be nothing like what happened in Czechoslovakia, Poland or Romania. This is because most opposition to the regime has left the island and because a few miles away there is a super power, the United States. Since José Maria Aznar [Former head of the Spanish goverment] aligned the EU's Cuban policy with Washington's, efforts shave been made these past few years to try to modify its unconditional character. Objectives will henceforth be the same: to manage to get the EU and Spain to adopt a good position to support a successful and peaceful transition to democracy." (19/06/2007)

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"However unthinkable this may seem, more frequent in the Amazon or in Papua New Guinea, several hundreds of people lived in complete and enforced autarky for thousands of years in Europe, right up until 1830. In Europe? Yes! But far, very far away. Between northern Scotland and Iceland. In St Kilda, an island 64 kilometres away from the nearest coast", explains Philippe Manche. "The life of these provides the plot line for 'St Kilda, Island of the Birdmen', an opera and musical show to be presented this Friday June 22nd and Saturday 23rd in six towns: Mons (Belgium), Valenciennes (France), Düsseldorf (Germany), Hallstatt (Austria), Glasgow and Stornway. ... The audience in Mons will see what is happening in Düsseldorf while spectators in Stornway will be able to appreciate images in Valenciennes, and so on and so forth. This will no doubt be one of the first shows where ubiquity is neither fantasy, nor virtual." (20/06/2007)

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Booker prize-winner Salman Rushdie, who went into hiding under threat of death after an Iranian fatwa in 1989, has been knighted by the Queen. The daily considers raised objections. Regarding Rushdie's lack of gratitude towards the UK for harbouring him, "while traitors clearly disqualify themselves, the conferring of honours should pay no heed to degrees of patriotism". Moving on to concerns of "a diplomatic fall-out" following protest from Pakistan and Iran, it admits, "it is true that the decision to knight Salman Rushdie might have been incautious. ... Incautious or not, however, no government can allow anticipated hostility to dictate its actions - on something as parochial as honours, or as broad as foreign policy. As a cultural figure, Salman Rushdie, may or may not deserve his knighthood, but we would defend the Government's right to honour him, and Rushdie's right to accept". (20/06/2007)

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In Cannes not only the "Palme d'Or", but also the "Un Certain Regard" award went to a Romanian film: "California Dreamin" by the young director Cristian Nimescu, who recently died in a car accident. In the film a NATO train gets stuck in a Romanian village on its way to Kosovo. This is the beginning of a wonderful comedy, writes film critic Andrei Gorzo. "Unlike other films 'California Dreamin' isn't full of sombre images and it doesn't adhere to the belief that film must put together and explore reality, this being the standard view of Hollywood-groomed audiences who think reality can create a spectacle. In this film you feel the personality of director Nimescu at work, his youth and his sense of visual experimentation à la Spielberg. Nimescu experimented a lot with this film: it's a piece of commercial surrealism with rural Romanian protagonists, a combination of western parody and erotic comedy." (20/06/2007)

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"Although the Hapsburg Empire collapsed in 1918 it is only now that its former capital, Vienna, is relinquishing one of its last monumental legacies," Michael Frank comments with reference to the city's decision to give up its terminuses in favour of a central station. "The centre of the network has now - too - become a stopover. ... Vienna, once the undisputed capital of Central Europe, was at the same time beginning and end, starting and destination for all trade and change. The imperial city played host to the world and sent its emissaries all over the globe. Through traffic was unthinkable. Therefore all trains ended in Vienna or were sent from there to remote destinations such as Triest, Cracow, Bucharest, Lviv, Kaschau or Debrecen. ... The construction of Vienna's new central station - scheduled to begin operating in 2013 - is the tangible effect of the changes time brings transferred to the track. The Austro-Hungarian Empire has lost its final claim to being the starting point and destination of all travel within Central Europe, at least as far as transport is concerned." (20/06/2007)

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Friedrich Pukelsheim, a mathematician in Augsburg, Germany, explains why he thinks the square root formula proposed by Poland for the EU's Council of Ministers is the better voting system. According to him the so-called "Jagiellonian compromise" would be more transparent because the number of votes for each member state wouldn't have to be negotiated in all-night haggling marathons but could be determined with "amazing easiness" simply by calculating the square root of the individual member states' total population figures: "With the Jagiellonian compromise power and votes run parallel. This is why you would only have to divide the voting weight, which according to this construction coincides with the square root of the population. The result is then always the same, namely one. The Jagiellonian compromise guarantees all EU citizens the same amount of influence on the decisions of the EU Council of Ministers. You couldn't ask more of a voting system." (20/06/2007)

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