Now that the constitutional treaty has been scuttled it is time to take another look at the European Union and consider what it is, what it can and cannot do and where it should be going.

Many people are disenchanted with the EU. That is because it has been oversold. It is not and cannot be the answer to all of their problems. Ordinary people worry about crime in the streets, the plague of drugs, their take-home pay, the service in hospitals and the level of education. These matters are decided at the national level, not in Brussels - nor should they be.