Ratification is not an optional extra

Of all the problems with the convention/IGC process that delivered the constitutional treaty, one of the biggest is that it did not deal properly with the process of ratification.

There was no recommendation on how ratification should unfold and, not entirely coincidentally, ratification stopped unfolding.

When Angela Merkel makes her proposal on how to restart the constitutional process this coming June, the question of ratification is absolutely central.

The suggestion in...