“Britain could be expelled from the European Union if it refuses to accept a fully fledged European government with powers to launch military or police actions on British soil, according to a draft constitution unveiled by Brussels yesterday” (Daily Telegraph, London, Dec. 6, 2002; emphasis ours). This “draft constitution” in fact refers to a 145-page document secretly drafted by Romano Prodi, head of the European Commission.
While the European Convention, chaired by former French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing, prepared to draft an official constitution for the EU, Prodi had “Penelope,” code-name for his own draft constitution, drawn up. This paper dwelt on the fact that “any country that fails to ratify the new constitution should be booted out of the club” (Economist, Dec. 14, 2002). Once five sixths of the EU states ratified the constitution, the rest would be “deemed to have left the Union” under Prodi’s constitution.
Despite the outrage of Prodi’s colleagues over his secret draft, many aspects of Penelope will likely make it into the final constitution, in an attempt to avoid paralysis of the decision-making process once the EU grows to include 25 countries. At the EU summit on enlargement in Copenhagen last December, Giscard d’Estaing “did not rule out drawing inspiration from certain elements” of this “working paper” even though it has no official status (European Report, Dec. 14, 2002).
The proposed provisions to expel a country from the EU may well be the avenue by which Britain will eventually find itself on the outside of the Union. Indeed, Bible prophecy indicates that Britain will either opt out, or face being kicked out of the Union. To learn why, please request our booklet The United States and Britain in Prophecy.