A year ago, few people would have bet that the European Union, still reeling from the trauma of the Constitutional Treaty’s rejection in 2005, would be poised to ratify the new Reform Treaty, adopted in Lisbon last December. For some, the fact that the United Kingdom might ratify it even earlier than traditionally “pro-European” countries like Italy merely underscores the Treaty’s lack of new and bold initiatives to accelerate European unification.
罗马——一年前，当欧盟宪法在2005年被否的伤痛尚未平复的时候，几乎没有人敢断定欧盟会以如此平稳的姿态批准去年12月在里斯本通过的新《改革条约》。在一些人看来，英国甚至先于意大利这样有 “亲欧洲”传统的国家签署这项条约，只能进一步说明这项条约在加速欧洲的统一步伐方面缺乏新鲜而大胆的创意。但是他们看错了。