ABSTRACT
The disconnection problem The resounding ‘no’ votes in the 2005 referendums do not in themselves indicate visceral Euroscepticism, or not entirely so. The rejection of the Constitutional Treaty by a majority of the electorates of France and the Netherlands shows instead widespread public concern about the state of the European project, much of it reflecting contrary views over the pace and direction of European integration. Behind this reaction is rising public anxiety about the remoteness of the political class, disquiet about the top-down manner in which the European project has been constructed and managed. There is little dispute about the fact of disconnection, but rather less concern amongst Europe’s political leaders than there ought to be about either its causes or consequences. There are, however, differences of opinion with the commentariat about whether disconnection really matters, its impact on stable governance in the inchoate polity that is the European Union.
