Areferendum on the European Constitution has just been held in France. The French voters rejected the constitution by 55 percent to 45 percent. It should be considered a setback to the steady march of the European Union (EU) but certainly not a catastrophe

The British media closely followed by the US media have raised a spectre of doomsday. The reason for the British is simply that they are unable to take the plunge with the EU because of their "special relationship" with the US. For the US, it is more complex. For the immediate future, it sees the EU as a strong competitor in all fields although for the long run it realizes that EU can be a valuable partner.

The constitution for Europe raised more noise than it deserved. Any constitution is a complex document and the one we are talking about was no less. What worried the voters deep down was the question of loss of sovereignty of member states although it was not clearly spelt out. There was mention of a EU Foreign Minister. which may have troubled some voters. What is beyond any shadow of doubt is that the entire issue of the constitution was not clearly enunciated in a simple manner that could be understood by the voters. The entire exercise gave the impression that it lacked adequate preparation.

It has to be clearly understood that it will take a considerable period of preparation of public opinion before they can be asked even in an oblique way to surrender a part of their sovereignty. The nation state is the reality with which we live and die. The only meaningful supranational institution that has grown since the end of the Second World War is the UN, with its current member standing at 191, and nobody will claim that

even the tiniest member state has surrendered an iota of its sovereignty to this world body.

The EU since its birth more than half a century ago has been advancing steadily in the direction of a supranational body, and over decades has greatly advanced in that direction, from a Franco-German treaty, moving on to a group of six, and then eleven, and on to fifteen, and very recently to twenty five. The most dramatic move towards integration has been the adoption of the Euro, replacing

national currencies like the French Franc or the German Deutschmark.

Thus over the years EU has established institutions driving her towards the cherished goal of political union. This is the hardest one to achieve. For, as we have noted above, the adoption of the constitution involves surrendering a part of sovereignty. It is evident from the French vote that people are not ready yet to take that plunge. For the adoption of the constitution all 25 members have to vote "yes."

The "no" from France has a very important meaning. For the founders of the EU are France and Germany, who are really the motor of this powerful organization, which plays an ever growing role on the world stage. The nation state as we witness in the world today was born following the French Revolution in 1789. Thus we saw that following the rejection by a majority vote, the victors assembled at Bastille, which was the hated prison that had been pulled down by the revolutionaries. So if the French voters were unable to say "yes" that would really mean that the people want time for reflection and to become mentally prepared to take the plunge.

I have been amused by the hullabaloo created by the media about the membership of Turkey to the EU. The fact of the matter is that Turkey has been striving for membership of this powerful organization for half a century. It has gone to the EU again and again only to be rebuffed. Turkish foreign policy which has a long-term vision, has remained steadfast. In

the last EU summit, Turkey after a long battle with all the members, managed to extract a date for the start of negotiations this coming autumn. This was the toughest hurdle she had to cross and Turkey waits for those negotiations to begin. Nobody will suggest that the negotiations are going to be easy or the route a short one. The expectation is that it will take at least half a dozen years for the talks to be completed. The one reassuring element for Turkey is that at the Helsinki summit a few years ago, the decision was made to invite Turkey to talks. Turkey has been attending EU summits ever since.

The French referendum will work as a temporary brake. It is evident that European public opinion was not ready to answer the question of adoption of the constitution. Before that event, slowly and painfully the people of Europe have to be made accustomed to the fact that Europe, where the concept of nation state was born, is getting ready to say good bye to that idea.

Arshad-uz-Zaman is a former Ambassador.