A European vision

ARE you in favour of the new European vision? No, its not the latest advertising campaign by a European optician it is the question which Spaniard's will be asked when they vote on the European constitution in their referendum next year. Naturally, the new European vision involves the enlargement of the European Union and Spain looks set to lose some of its financial aid from Brussels as it will be channeled into the new European Union members. What always concerns me about referendums is how the question is phrased. Pollsters can get the answer they want to almost every question. In other words in Spain's case in the referendum the question should be “Do you believe in a larger Europe with more power going to Brussels.” I would say that is a fair way to describe the new constitution. Spanish Prime Minister Rodriguez Zapatero called the referendum because he was confident that he would get a Yes vote. But times have moved on and the latest poll says that the majority of Spaniards are still undecided for a large number of reasons. I was talking to a pro-European yesterday who said that he would vote No in the referendum because the Constitution did not take into account minority languages such as Catalan. It other words Zapatero has a major struggle on his hands to try and convince an increasingly Eurosceptic Spanish public of the greatness of the European Union. I just hope that it is an open and fair debate and that the public will not be misled. We are talking about an issue which is our future. We can't afford to take this issue lightly. Providing, that it is an open debate then Spain can move forward. I think the Spanish referendum is one of the first then perhaps it could be a blueprint for other countries. I believe that it should be one of the most important debates in Spanish history. I just hope that Zapatero thinks likewise.