Jürgen Habermas proposes a Europe-wide referendum

In an interview with dpa journalist Matthias Hoenig, German philosopher Jürgen Habermas proposes a way out of the constitution crisis: a referendum to be held parallel to the Euro-elections in 2009. "The different governments, which after all control the whole process, must admit their own impotence and for once 'put their faith in democracy'. As political parties, which are what all governments are made up of, they must overcome their fear of losing control and face the challenge of fighting a pan-European battle for each vote in favour or against the expansion of the European Union... If the referendum succeeds, Europe could say goodbye to the convoy model in which the slowest sets the pace. And even in a core-and-periphery-Europe, those countries that prefer to remain on the periphery would naturally retain the option of joining the core at any time."

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