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May 2005, Europe's "centralised" future is in doubt following votes from both France and Holland against the European Constitution.

This BBC Article sheds some light on why the Dutch were against it. Most interesting are quotes that highlight the difference between the people and the leaders - the gulf between what people want, and what rulers think people want:

"It's because of the whole way things were managed, manipulated, not just by our government, but by the authorities in Brussels. The arrogance! Being so sure of themselves without speaking to the people of Europe, deciding for themselves!"

and...

"People are unhappy with the fact that Europe is a project of the elite, not the ordinary people.

"The decision to introduce the euro was taken in 1992 in Maastricht, but at the time there was no public discussion. The enlargement of the EU was agreed in 1993, but it was only when it actually happened that the debate began."

I find that this mirrors a similar level of anti-aroogance that in Britain shows up as voter apathy. There's a great deal of resentment, I think, with the way that Parliament runs itself - rather than listening to the people it's supposed to be run for, and now the flustering of the pro-European elites mirrors the flustering of the pro-Uk-democracy, ivory-towered MPs in lots of ways.

See also my megalithic gallery of Eastern Europe.