Do you understand what's in the EU constitution?

I suspect that only a few people have more than a vague understanding of what is in the EU constitution. There is a great detail of complex detail in it, unfortunately, and whilst I have taken the trouble to read quite large parts of the text, as it appears in the EU website here, there is no disguising that the sheer length of the various texts makes it extremely difficult to grasp the full impact of this legislation.

That's why I was so interested to read this article in yesterday's Sunday Telegraph. The publication it refers to, "The European Constitution in Perspective" is put out by a small Cotswold publishing house (British Management Data Foundation [BDMA]). This publication, whilst still lengthy at 270 pages, is nevertheless the first time what are apparently 844 pages in the website have been consolidated into one single document, accompanied by an analysis and a proper index. Whilst I did not telephone the number quoted at the end of the article I link to, I chose the more familiar route to me of going online to Amazon as soon as I had read it and ordering a copy for myself there - here is the link. It costs GBP27.50 and this seems a small price to pay to give me, with a little reading effort, a better understanding of what is involved. At least when it arrives (early January next) I will have the opportunity of equipping myself with the knowledge to use my vote intelligently when (and if) we are given the opportunity to vote in the referendum we have been promised in the UK by Tony Blair to decide whether the UK should ratify the treaty.

I hope as many citizens of EU countries as possible will take the trouble to learn about the EU Constitutional Treaty - if it is ratified by all 25 signatories within the two year time-frame allocated from signing, it will govern every aspect of our lives. That's a pretty good incentive, I think, to familiarise oneself with what is in it!