Habermas on European Union

SPIEGEL online has a feature about the 'Disunity in the European Union', including lengthy analyses by Dirk Kubjuweit and Jürgen Habermas.

The piece by Habermas contains much the same diagnosis that I forwarded in a shorter version in the intro of the euroblog roundup. Not to claim originality, mind. Here are some of the more hard-hitting quotes:

Suddenly roused out of complacency, European governments don't want to appear helpless. They are looking for a "technical" solution -- which would result in a repeat of the Irish referendum.

This, though, is little more than unadulterated cynicism on the part of the decision makers, especially given their protestations of respect for the electorate. It is also wind in the sails of those actively wondering whether semi-authoritarian forms of pseudo-democracy practiced elsewhere are perhaps more effective after all.

[...]

The failed referendums are a signal that the elitist mode of European unification is, thanks to its own success, reaching its limits. These limits can only be surmounted if the pro-European elites stop excusing themselves from the principle of representation and shed their fears of contact with the electorate.

[...]

Where the blame lies is clear. First and foremost, it can be pinned on the fact that governments themselves are at a loss -- and are thus spreading the malaise of a lackadaisical and morose "more of the same" attitude.

It's easy to blame the governments for this failure. But it is also correct.

Habermas goes on to suggest drafting a two-speed Europe and arranging for the option of letting some countries drop out if they do not want to go ahead with integration, which I am not sure I entirely agree with. More on that, soon.