What Could be Saved from the European Constitution if Ratification Fails? The Problems with a ‘Plan B’. CEPS Policy Briefs No. 70, 1 May 2005

{From the Introduction]. The pressure is on for the defenders of the European Constitution.(1) Although initially it seemed as if referenda would only be problematic in countries that have a reputation for a certain degree of Euroscepticism, now even France and the Netherlands look like unsafe candidates for public approval. While there is still a fair chance that a majority of the French will vote ‘yes’ when actually at the ballot box, there is an understandable nervousness among prointegrationists. A French ‘no’ would be the most serious obstacle that any one member state among those holding a referendum could create. In the likely case that other member states besides France then reject the text – possibly for entirely different or even opposing reasons – it would become extremely difficult to ‘save’ the Constitution in its entirety. During the last several weeks, there has been much talk about a ‘plan B’, which some governments or even EU officials are said to have already prepared in case ratification of the Constitutional Treaty fails. But while alternative scenarios are likely to be discussed behind the scenes, it surely is an exaggeration that anyone already has ‘the’ plan B, which only needs to be pulled out ready-made from a secret drawer