Nationalism Ignites E.U. Rebellion

For Many Citizens, Identity Takes Precedence Over Unity

ROME -- On the edge of the Campo de' Fiori open-air market, the question on the mind of Ruggero Ruggeri, a 70-year-old grocery store owner, was this: What does someone at the European Commission in Brussels know about buffalo mozzarella, a genuine Italian article?

Italian shoppers want their fresh cheese floating in brine, which keeps it moist, Ruggeri explained this past week. And they want to be able to tell their grocery man how much to slice off the big pearly white "braids" of the cheese.

Instead, because of European Union rules that came into force two years ago, mozzarella must be packed in plastic with the expiration date stamped all over it. "Mozzarella loses all its flavor sitting in a plastic bag," he declared. "And how can we cut it to order? Our clients have complained. People don't like it anymore."

Similar resentment is resonating throughout the E.U. these days, as the bloc faces a rebellion from within by people who say it has grown too big, too fast and become unaccountable now that it oversees 25 countries with a population of more than 450 million. The objections vary from country to country, but they add up to the same thing, a desire to put the brakes on more than 50 years of integration.

In France, voters rejected a proposed E.U. constitution May 29 by a ratio of 55 to 45. In the Netherlands, another founding member of the bloc when it was formed in 1952, it was rejected 62 percent to 38 percent three days later. Few voters had actually read the voluminous document, but a "no" vote was a way to protest against the integration that has been a pet project of political elites for half a century but has rarely been put to the citizenry.

Many of the constitution's opponents say they favor a united Europe. It has made cross-border travel easy, and it has provided the convenience of a common currency in 12 countries. Many people believe it has helped make their standard of living among the highest in the world and kept the peace between member countries for more than half a century.

But opponents fret that the push for uniformity threatens local customs and cultural quirks that add up to a way of life.

In France, "no" voters often said they were convinced the E.U. would impose what is known derisively as Anglo-Saxon economics on all its members, effectively dismantling the French welfare state with its emphasis on job preservation and a generous social safety net.

For other opponents, the issue was immigration. They believe that their countries' Muslim minorities are already too large and that the constitution would eventually open the way to admission of Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country of 70 million people.

Other concerns are provincial, but still arouse emotion. Some Hungarians, for instance, fear the E.U. will over-regulate the way they have traditionally force-fed geese to produce foie gras. In Spain, people raise the specter of an E.U. mandate to outlaw bullfighting.

"All the E.U. regulations changed the way we do business," said Ruggeri, whose store is a Rome landmark.

The man who works the cheese and meat counter in a white apron said he was not aware of any epidemic resulting from the traditional way of selling mozzarella that would justify the packaging regulation.