Another nail in the coffin for the argument that the constitution is 'pro-federal'. The Union of European Federalists passed a resolution in its Brussels committee that

"criticises that the constitution falls short of what is needed in many respects, mainly:

• "by not abolishing the unanimity rule in many important fields...; in particular in foreign, security and defence policy and for the multi-annual financial framework;
• "by not introducing a procedure that makes the entering into force of the constitution possible when all but one or two member states have ratified the text;
• "by foreseeing a revision procedure which does not allow the constitution to evolve in a flexible and efficient way."

The UEF is just one of several pro-federal European organisations which have complained that the constitution does the opposite of what they want: it cements a firmly nation-state, firmly British view of the EU for the future.