Britain and Europe: A Pause for Reflection?

Abstract

After the no votes in France and the Netherlands stopped ratification of the Constitutional Treaty in its tracks in mid-2005, a ‘pause for reflection’ was called for on all sides. In 2006 it became a standing joke that this process entailed rather more pause than it did reflection — a situation that arguably suited a less enthusiastic member state like the UK than it did those which hoped somehow to put the pieces back together and carry on regardless. The conclusions of the European Council that took place in June 2006 were a clear signal that little progress had been or would be made in the near future: notwithstanding the fact that parliamentary ratification of the treaty has proceeded in some countries, discussion on what to do next was booted into the long grass of 2008. And reports that the council meeting in December would see Germany seek to accelerate progress under its forthcoming presidency came to nothing.