Ironically, the stunning anti-Europe vote in the recent EU parliamentary elections probably proved to be the needed catalyst for sudden agreement. Now all EU member nations must seek approval from their national parliaments by December 2006. In addition, Britain and other countries have decided to hold national referenda, also putting approval to their individual citizens.

But what does this new constitution actually do? Noted conservative Daily Telegraph commentator Ambrose-Evans Pritchard concedes: "It brings together 450 million people from 25 states, embracing all the major strands of European culture, in a rich, peaceful and democratic union under one supreme legal document—without a mention of God" (June 19, emphasis added throughout). It also supersedes the founding document, the Treaty of Rome (1957), the Single European Act (1986), the Maastricht Treaty of European Union (1992) and other formal agreements at Amsterdam (1997) and Nice (2000).

How will this new constitution affect the national sovereignty of member countries? Although British Prime Minister Tony Blair has specifically stated that British national sovereignty is still intact in certain key areas like foreign policy and national defense,the European constitution itself broadly states: "This constitution shall have primacy over the laws of the Member states" (Article I-5).

Daniel Hannan, a conservative member of the European Parliament's Constitutional Affairs Committee, has written the following about foreign affairs and defense: "The Prime Minister's claim to have secured his 'red line' in this area is hard to reconcile with the text. Article I-15 reads: 'The common foreign and security policy shall cover all aspects of foreign policy and all questions relating to the Union's security policy actively and unreservedly, in a spirit of loyalty and mutual solidarity'" (The Sunday Telegraph, June 20).

Mr. Hannan then adds: "The constitution creates a European foreign minister and a diplomatic corps, and gives legal recognition to the EU's fledgling military forces, which have already been deployed in the Congo and Macedonia."

David Heathcoat-Amory, another conservative on the drafting body, said: "The big issue is whether power remains at Westminster [London] at all, or it goes to Brussels, and under this constitution there will be massive further transfer to Europe" (The Daily Telegraph, June 19).

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard also comments: "The text is full of ambiguities and ... clauses paving the way for Brussels to slice off more power in the future." The leading conservative British papers have all reacted in terms of the dangers of a future European superstate. Yet Mr. Blair specifically stated: "A new Europe has taken shape, a Europe in which Britain can build alliances and feel at home. A Europe in which there's no one dominant view but in which there's a Europe of flexibility and diverse progress" (Brussels speech quoted in the Daily Mail, June 19).

Public and private reaction to the new constitution in each EU country is both pro and con. The important question remains: What does the Bible say about the political future of Europe? For the answer, request our free booklets The Book of Revelation Unveiled and Are We Living in the Time of the End? (Sources: The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, Daily Mail [all London].)