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WILL IT OR WON'T IT?

THE UNITED KINGDOM'S first referendum in three decades is likely to be held in early 2006. Its people will vote on the Treaty of Rome that established a Constitution for the European Union (EU). While the publication of the British Referendum Bill 2005 has ended uncertainty about the mode of ratification of the historic document, it has occasioned fresh controversy. A provision in the Bill allows the Government to hold the referendum simultaneously with local elections. The official explanation that a joint vote will ensure a high voter turnout and reduce cost has not found favour with the election watchdog, the Opposition, and Eurosceptics. They contend that combining a garden-variety election with a referendum on an issue of great national importance is bound to confuse voters. The objection cannot be treated lightly, especially by a Government committed to integration, in the wake of opinion polls that have found the British public to be poorly informed on matters concerning the EU. In a debate that has lacked élan at the best of times, Europhobes and Europhiles have failed to address the real issues at stake. Eurosceptics have tended to demonise Brussels and romanticise Westminster. Enthusiasts of a united Europe have rarely shown the courage of their conviction by levelling with the people on the new commitments that integration will enjoin on Britain. Nor have they been persuasive about the economic benefits of open markets and the role of political union in sustaining them. It is time Europhiles recognised the imperative of centre-staging the objective of achieving lasting peace and stability through unifying Europe. They should also ensure that the referendum is held exclusively on the EU Constitution, and that the public is enabled to come to an informed judgment. Otherwise, a positive outcome can have the unintended effect of triggering a nationalistic backlash against integration. On the other hand, a negative verdict will have bitterly divisive and demoralising effects. An open, straightforward, and non-sanitised debate on the ensemble of EU-related issues is the only way forward.

Since the end of the Second World War, the question of pursuing economic and political union has divided the country, split Cabinets, and toppled Prime Ministers. It is therefore hardly surprising that from the beginning, Britain has been a laggard in the grand European project of integration. It turned down invitations to join the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community (EEC). When it was eventually admitted to the EEC, after two failed attempts, in 1973, the rules of economic integration were of 20 years' standing and Britain had to make concessions in many areas. Few lessons seem to have been drawn from this unedifying experience. Britain under Margaret Thatcher signed the Single European Act (1987), which gave a further boost to integration. However, strident posturing, ostensibly to protect British national interests, was behind the `Iron Lady' winning the infamous rebate on Britain's contributions to the EU budget.

The current delay in joining the euro is driven by a reluctance to allow national monetary policy to be governed from outside. The benefits of a single currency such as a reduction in transaction costs and a greater impetus to competition based on price comparisons in a common currency are enormous. If the British people are to reap the benefits of economic interdependence and integration, their leadership must engage with Europe in a partnership that is whole-hearted and positive. The run-up to the referendum will be a stern test of both the political will and capacity of political leaders to engage straightforwardly and in the best spirit of democracy with what the people really want.

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