Europe after the 'no' votes : mapping a new economic path : thirty-fifth Wincott Lecture, 3 October 2005

In Europe After the NO Votes, Professor Patrick Messerlin of the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, argues that the NO votes in the French and Dutch referenda on the proposed EU constitution highlight the need to design an economic agenda for the future of the EU congruent with its fundamental purpose. The NO votes show that the EU cannot be a European ‘super-state’ providing a wide range of social policies, but must return to the modest role originally set out in the slim Treaty of Rome. Professor Messerlin shows how liberalisation of agriculture, manufacturing and services, and engagement with widely held fears about globalisation, must be an essential part of future reform of the EU. Former European Commissioner Lord Brittan and leading European scholars Professor John Gillingham and Professor Pedro Schwartz provide commentaries on Messerlin’s analysis. This book will prove essential reading for those concerned with the future of the European Union as it maps out a positive way forward for the EU after its turbulent recent past.