The EU foreign ministers have agreed on a roadmap for institutional reform, as Dutch foreign minister Bernard Bot told reporters (EU Observer 5/27/06).
The foreign ministers have obviously found a compromise only on the basic question of institutional adaptions needed for small-scale enlargement, but not more.
The Consequences
This strenghtens the assumption of my recent piece on this issue on the same issue: 1) no big enlargement step after Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia. This will especially mean a "no" for the Turkey accession by the Conservatives. 2) No further institutional or political integration. This means especially a "no" to policies related to a "Social Europe". 3) The minimum version will probably be stripped of most symbolic "constitutional" elements.
Why this shouldn't make the Left happy
As I have indicated earlier, this is not a bad trade-off for the Conservative governments. But the Liberals and the Left should become cautious: a "no" to the Turkey enlargement is a threat to EU foreign policy as we knew it, and this means a threat to the influence of stability, democracy and peace the enlarging Union had. If the Union starts to close itself off from the neighboring regions (following the US example) this could mean that the already 50-year old growth of peace may come to a hold.
Also, to pursuit a "social Europe", further integration in democratic, social, economic and judicial matters and changes in the budgetary and monetary policies is needed.
The end of the Constitution therefor is nothing that the Left needs to be particularly happy with.
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