This week the Bertelsmann Foundation produced an opinion poll [pdf] that will be regarded as a rather large curate’s egg by those in power here in Brussels. Whilst more accurate than their own Eurobarometre polls it shows significant divergence between different nationalities and their beliefs about the future of the European Union.

Titled “EU 2020 – the View of the Europeans” it makes pretty interesting reading

Its introduction starts thus, “Opinion poll researchers tend to think of fatigue, incomprehension and displeasure in connection with the electorates of the European Union when it comes to the future of the integration project.” Well quite.

It goes on with some interesting maths,
“However, the survey results demonstrate that a relative majority of the interviewees (40 percent on average across countries) now believes that a European constitution will be introduced by the year 2020. If one adds the 25 percent who believe in a revision of the basic treaties, though not in a constitution, then we have an overwhelming majority that believes the institutional foundations of the European Union will be revised.”

Another way of reading this would be to say that a majority of the people (60%) have no faith in the Constitution that is still on the table.