We don't often get much cheer reading the news from Europe these days, but the results of the round of elections for Members of the European Parliament show that the ranks of Euroskeptics are growing much faster than most observers believed. Still, let's not overdo the enthusiasm — parties which question the wisdom of rushing pell—mell into a unified Eurostate are still distinct minorities everywhere.

Still, the fairly toothless European Parliament will have to face internal voices asking awkward questions about such subjects as the wisdom of sending aid to the Palestinian Authority with no controls, of putting more and more power in the hands of unelected bureaucrats, and of the need for much greater transparency.

Altogether, a good start.

Posted by Thomas  04 14 04