World News and Trends: European integration presses forward

With apologies to Mark Twain, it seems the rumors of the death of the European Constitution have been greatly exaggerated. The latest approvals of the Lisbon Treaty signal the coming of a United States of Europe.

Those who have followed developments in Europe may remember that European Union leaders not long ago tried to institute, through popular referendums and national parliamentary votes, a constitution that would bind the EU countries into a federal superstate with centralized power. But it failed to garner the needed unanimous approval of these countries, being rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005.

Many claimed the integration process was thereby permanently halted. But the elitist architects of this process were determined not to let a little thing like the will of the people stand in the way of their grand dream of European political unity. Some even advocated that repeated votes be taken in the obstructing nations until the desired outcome was achieved. And remarkably, this strategy has succeeded.

A few changes were made to the massive document and it was trotted out at the end of 2007 for approval once more—called now simply the Treaty of Lisbon or Reform Treaty to sound less like what it was. Nearly all countries were denied a referendum, their parliaments for the most part rubber stamping the treaty. Only Ireland put it to a public referendum in 2008, and the treaty was rejected. Many assumed this would scuttle the project for good. Not so. In a new referendum in October 2009, the Irish approved the treaty. (According to Daniel Hannan, a Conservative Member of the European Parliament for Southeast England, the EU broke its own rules in funneling money into this referendum.)

The Irish yes vote was followed swiftly by the approval of Poland, which previously had reservations. The only remaining hold-out on the treaty as of the time of this writing is the Czech Republic, though that may have changed by the time you are reading this. (Both houses of the Czech parliament have passed the treaty but it remains to be seen whether President Vaclav Klaus, who has opposed it, will sign on.)

There had been talk among leaders that if Ireland voted no again it might be possible to create a two-tiered EU, wherein a "core Europe" could go ahead with implementation of the treaty. Yet that doesn't appear necessary at the moment. Indeed, were the Czechs to reject the treaty now, it would no doubt be repeatedly pushed on them until they acquiesce.

European political union is surely coming. The Lisbon Treaty calls for a new president of Europe—at first appointed by the member states. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has been consistently touted by many for this position, though some would prefer a leader from a eurozone country—that is, one that has adopted the euro as its currency.

In any event, European integration presses inexorably onward. Be assured that it will happen whether the people want it or not—and not just because elitist leaders are intent on ramming it through. Rather, Scripture foretells an end-time revival of the Roman Empire that derives its power from the evil ruler of this world (Daniel 2 and 7; Revelation 13 and 17; compare 12:9; 13:2). Keep watching events in Europe. The world is in for big changes. (Sources: Agence France-Presse, Telegraph.co.uk, The Brussels Journal, EUobserver.com.)