No Power to the People; Europe's leaders aim to revive the constitution, but this time without the potential embarrassment of another messy vote.

Byline: Andrew Moravcsik (Moravcsik directs the European Union Program at Princeton University.)

Remember the European constitution? Once upon a time, it seemed the answer to the European Union's woes. Leaders promised a union that was "more democratic, transparent and efficient"--a tonic for its declining popularity.

And so it began. There was a year-long Constitutional Convention, replete with lofty references to a new generation of European "founding fathers." Yet the resulting document proved uninspiring, even unreadable. Voters in France and the Netherlands rejected it in 2005 as a symbol of everything they disliked--social-welfare cuts, immigration, their own governments--anything except actual EU policy. That ushered in a long "reflection period" during which no one reflected. Prudent politicians might just have let the constitution die then, but no. It's back.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency through June, is determined to revive the star-crossed treaty. At Davos last week, she declared it an indispensable "road map" to Europe's future. "People must trust us," she said, arguing that only a constitution spelling out why the Union is good for Europe could restore popular confidence. Yet in fact, her efforts threaten to sunder Europe--and possibly make it even less efficient, transparent and democratic than ever.

Almost overnight, Europe's leaders have divided into warring camps. The pragmatists (Britain, France, the Netherlands, Poland and the Czech Republic) want a short treaty salvaging a few key provisions of the rejected constitution, including the consolidation of foreign-policy powers, a shift in weighted voting rights, a modest expansion of the role of the European Parliament and the creation of a five-year presidency to replace the unwieldy current system of rotating six-month terms. The federalists (basically, every other member state) cleave to the dream of an ever-wider, ever-deeper Europe, a veritable state unto itself. They convened as "Friends of the Constitution" last week in Spain to reject a "minimalist" EU future, and to embrace grander economic and political ...