Just days into her role as president of the EU Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel is determined to salvage the moribund EUconstitution rejected by France and the Netherlands 18 months ago. Saying this will be the centerpiece of her six month run as EU president Mrs. Merkel says, "We must give Europe a soul. We have to find the soul of Europe".

The public will be excluded from debate about this version of a constitution. No doubt there will be a great deal of opposition among many member states and this approach will test her leadership, in what could be a make or break effort for her stature among Europe's leaders. The Guardian has the story here.

As I pointed out in another post many voices are pointing to the very serious demographic issues facing all the European nations. They are dying. Their Muslim populations are rising. On that score there will be an inevitable clash. Presently Europe does not have an army capable of mounting anything near what the United States can do in projecting force. Nor do they presently have the will to do so.

But there are consistent voices that call for Europe to take the lead in the diplomatic, political and moral sphere and to replace America, which many see as declining. An article in today's Financial Times quoted Kenneth Roth, head of Human Rights Watch as saying the Bush administration's "push for democracy is over now". He calls for the EU "fill the leadership void". He is referring to the effort to democratize the Middle East.

Will these calls increase and move the EU into a more proactive role in world affairs?