BRUSSELS -- A "stronger Britain in a wider Europe" has been the vision of a succession of British governments but increasingly this debate on the future of Britain in Europe is one in which the media is having to place severe constraints. The strong tradition of English exceptionalism and isolationism that underpins the Euroskeptic press leads it to try to brake any progress on European cooperation and integration, including a visceral opposition to the Treaty of Nice. This relentless Europhobia does not derive from any considered response to the content of the treaty itself but from a dogmatic refusal to contemplate any constructive debate involving Britain's future and further role in Europe.

When British Prime Minister Tony Blair returned from the Nice summit proclaiming victory, a litter of newspaper reports claimed he had sold Britain out over the issue of sovereignty. Yet despite reports to the contrary, the reality was that, on the fields of Nice, enlargement was won and the interests of Britain -- and Europe -- were protected.

The prime aim for all the participants at Nice was preparation for EU enlargement. An agreement was reached that removes all the remaining institutional obstacles, and allows for the possibility of the first wave of accession by 2004. It is incredible to think that little more than a decade ago those countries in central and Eastern Europe that are awaiting accession were still part of the Soviet Empire. As Blair said in a statement to the House of Commons "today there is the real prospect of uniting Western and Eastern Europe for the first time in generations." Those opposing ratification of the Treaty of Nice will, consciously or not, deny these countries swift membership in the Union. The governments in Warsaw, Prague and Budapest have all appealed for the treaty to be ratified as soon as possible.