Historically, the French have only favored the idea
of a united Europe as long as they could run it.
The EU Constitution makes French dominance of a united Europe all but impossible,
and consequently, French enthusiasm for its ratification is waning. Only three months ago, French voters were expected to
vote 'yes' to the new EU Constitution by a comfortable margin of 60%.
As the French electorate became familiar with the document, popular support
plummeted until, according to the last poll, a majority of French voters are now poised to vote 'no' on the May 29 referendum
vote to ratify the new constitution.
Opponents to the EU Constitution are growing in number, with 56 percent of
those surveyed saying they would vote against the referendum, according to a poll published in Saturday's Le Parisien. That
represented a gain of 1 percentage point.
Support for the Constitution dropped 1 point to 44 percent, the same survey
showed.
Every member state of the EU must ratify the constitution, and if France fails
to go along, the document is potentially doomed. France is one of the six original founders of the EU, which was born out
of the six-nation Benelux Treaty agreement of 1948.
France is not only one of the founding nations of the EU, it is one of only
ten full members of the Western European Alliance, which serves as the EU's security and defense establishment and can also
trace its roots to the 1948 Treaty of Brussels.
Notes the Guardian UK, "The original Common Market was a French creation,
in effect, an extension of the French state and the accompanying subordinate relationship of capitalism."
"Now that the EU is being transmuted into a network of European states, of
which France is but one and in which the market has a much more central role, France is losing control of both the EU and
an idea of France."
The European Constitution would essentially consolidate all previous treaty
agreements into one document governing both the EU and WEU Alliance. It also will change the union's voting system, removing,
for example, national vetoes from some policy areas, such as immigration, and streamlining the union's administrative leadership.
Once it is ratified, France would no longer be the dominant power in Europe.
And French voters don't like it. Explains Bernard Kouchner, one of France's most popular political figures and former Health
Minister under the Socialists;
"The French believe that their system is the best and that they are the center
of the universe. It's not true. They don't realize they are like an old ship sinking slowly in the sea."
In addition to the French, there is a growing possibility that the Dutch may
also reject the constitution in its own referendum scheduled three days after France's.
The Netherlands, like France, is one of the EU's founding Benelux members.
Michiel van Hulten, a former socialist member of the European Parliament told
a Dutch newspaper; "Right now we are heading for a massive 'no' vote in Holland because no one is making the case for the
constitution. The situation is like in Ireland before the referendum on the Nice Treaty in 2001 -- everyone is assuming we
are going to vote in favor, despite the reality on the ground."
The 200 page proposed constitution also faces major opposition in Britain,
yet a THIRD member of the Original Six and, like France and the Netherlands, a member of the WEU's Ten FULL Member States.
Under the rules, the Constitution has to be ratified by all member states,
but the EU could survive even with 'no' votes from France, the UK and the Netherlands.
Existing rules could be modified to allow for the government of the remaining
22 states, or modifications could be made to move the dissenting members into a different membership status that would allow
them to participate despite rejecting the Constitution.
Writing for the Japan Times, former British cabinet minister and current member
of the British House of Lords, Lord David Howell offered this assessment:
"Some argue that a rejection by France would be more than a momentary setback
-- it would be a catastrophe for the whole EU. Well, it would certainly be a nasty shock for most of the European government
elites who have signed up to the lengthy and unreadable constitution document. But for the peoples of Europe, it would make
remarkably little difference. Existing rules could be modified. . . "
Ratifying the EU Constitution would achieve the goal set forth by Western
European Alliance Recommendation 666. That decision noted that, under its governing treaties, complete merger between the
EU and WEU could not take place.
As a compromise, they supported a proposal to have the WEU Secretary General
and the EU's Office of the High Representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy preside over the PSC (Political Security
Committee) and convene the council of the European Union in the event of an emergency.
Both jobs are filled by the same person, currently Javier Solana. That person,
under the proposed Constitution, makes Solana (or his successor) the defacto head-of-state for BOTH entities.
The prophet Daniel had a dream one night of four great beasts, which he interpreted
as four successive world empires.
The first three, a lion with eagle's wings, a bear, and a leopard with four
heads, correspond to the three successive empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia and the Greek empire of Alexander the Great.
The fourth, Daniel said, was " dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly;
and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse
from all the beasts that were before it; and it had TEN horns." (Daniel 7:7)
This fourth beast corresponds to Nebuchadnezzar's vision of the two legs of
the Roman Empire and the ten toes of a revived form of the Roman Empire in the last days. (Daniel 2:41)
As Daniel was considering the ten horns, he writes, " behold, there came up
among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this
horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things." (Daniel 7:8)
That Daniel was referring to an event in the last days is established by the
next verse:
"I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit,
whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His
wheels as burning fire."
Seven hundred years later, the Apostle John, recording his vision on the Isle
of Patmos, identified the 'Ancient of Days' as Jesus Christ, Whom he described as follows:
". . . One like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot,
and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes
were as a flame of fire; And His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of
many waters. . . " (Revelation 1:13-15)
Jesus, the 'Ancient of Days' gave John a vision of the coming Tribulation
Period, so Daniel and John are describing the same thing from different points in history.
Having established that, we return to the 'little horn' of Daniel 7:8.
Daniel describes the final form of the Roman Empire has having TEN horns (like
the WEU) and identifies another 'little horn' coming up 'before' -- or in authority over -- them.
Pulling it all together, then, we find ourselves at this juncture in history:
Currently, the WEU, (comprised of ten FULL members and 18 associate or observer
members) and the much-more diverse (and less powerful) 25-nation European Union have come up with a compromise, under the
authority of WEU Recommendation 666, for a shared leadership under a single individual.
That position of power, created by WEU Recommendation 666, will be permanently
enshrined by the proposed constitution, which so concerns three members of the Original Ten that they may not ratify it.
That would then mean either the collapse of the greater European unity experiment,
or a compromise that would allow the greater EU plan to move forward without these three dissenters.
Daniel explains; "The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,
which shall be DIVERSE from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse
from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. " (Daniel 7:23-24)
There are still some missing details, not the least of which is the Rapture
of the Church, which are necessary before the complete picture fleshes out, but in the main, if this were a prophecy by Nostradamus
or some other non-Biblical source, it would be headline news.
Since it is a Bible prophecy, it is only of real interest to Bible believers,
which conforms with the Bible's teaching that, "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1st Corinthians 2:14)
In any case, it is difficult to imagine a more precise fulfillment of Daniel's
vision than that which potentially looms before us.
"And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up,
and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more
stout than his fellows." (Daniel 7:20)
I don't know if the 'little horn' with a 'look more stout than his fellows'
is Javier Solana, but the crisis that would be created by the rejection of the EU constitution by three of its founding members
would certainly require drastic action that could easily result in their expulsion.
And whoever the 'little horn' of Daniel is, he is certainly the one we commonly
refer to as the antichrist.
"I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against
them." (Daniel 7:21 - see also Revelation 13:7)
Daniel says that 'same horn' will make war with the [Tribulation] saints,
"Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints
possessed the kingdom." (Daniel 7:22)
As I noted, we aren't quite there yet, and there are still a number of details
that have yet to fall into place. One of those details is the Rapture of the Church.
And if we can see the events of the Tribulation coming into view, then the
Rapture is even closer.
"For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice
of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are ALIVE AND REMAIN shall
be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
"Wherefore comfort one another with these words." (1st Thessalonians 4:16-18)
