So, both of you, be warned. This is going to be an exercise in Dutch Parliamentary tradition. In short (!) the decision on a referendum has to be taken by the Dutch coalition government, which consists of Christian-Democrats, Social-Democrats and the small but important Christian Union. They are however waiting for advice on the matter from the Council of State, a sui generis institution whose titular head is, believe it or not, the Queen. Who is also head of the government. So she is in fact advising herself on what decision to take.

Anyway, the Council is expected to advise against a referendum, because the treaty is stripped of most of it’s ‘constitutional’ elements. Not that it really matters, because in reality the government has already decided. In the ‘ coalition agreement’, the basis for the cooperation between the government parties, a referendum has already been ruled out!

Complicated, you say? But we haven’t even started yet! So the government will most likely say no to a new referendum, thereby all but insuring the ratification of the new treaty in The Netherlands. Or so it would seem. Because the Social-Democratic party, although bound by the coalition agreement, is split on the issue of a referendum. It is very possible that they will side with other parties in the Second (lower) Chamber of Parliament, to create a temporary initiative law calling for a referendum, thereby overruling their own ministers in the cabinet. This initiative procedure is how the previous referendum came about.

So there will be a referendum after all? Eh, not quite. Because this law has to pass through the First Chamber of Parliament, the Senate. And in the Senate, unlike in the Second Chamber, opponents of a referendum are in the majority. So, all in all, a new referendum seems, perhaps not impossible, but at least mathematically highly improbable.

Lost me? Good. Then at least I succeeded in demonstrating one big flaw of the new treaty. Giving more power to national parliaments is not the good idea it might seem at first sight. Can you imagine trying to figure out the parliamentary procedures of 25 or more member states? For what it’s worth, give me Brussels any day. Perhaps less democratic, but a hell of a lot easier to understand. And that’s saying something.

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Re-burying ancient kings always has an energising effect on society. However, it leaves less space for discourse on far more important issues like reconsidering our immediate past, the 45 years of communist rule or the reason for country’s almost blind loyalty to the Soviet Union. Happily, there are signs of increased interest towards this period - two web-based projects give people the opportunity to share their accounts of communism. The first one has a bit more personal touch, the other one is set out to explore the atrocities of the regime. On the other side of the political spectrum, recently there was an international conference on Georgi Dimitrov (Bulgaria’s first communist leader after the Second World War, who also made it to the cover of Life magazine). Social scientists from all over the world (including Cuba) spend the weekend singing praises to one of the best pupils of Stalin.

The one thing which unites all efforts to explore Bulgaria’s communist past is their total irrelevance for an overwhelming part of the population. Terribly important issues are being disregarded and swept under the rug. A recent opinion poll showed that only 20% of the population thinks it is important to open the files of the communist secret services (a hot issue in media and politics and an opportunity to discredit your political opponent by accusing him of cooperation with the secret services).

Bulgarian society is stuck in blissful ignorance about the really important issues in the country’s hisotry. Whether it is social apathy or the unwillingness to revisit traumatic experiences, people simply can’t be bothered. After all, arguing about whether the first Bulgarian kingdom was founded in 681 or in 679 is a lot easier, isn’t it?

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It was a fancy act - first, a spectacular exhibition took place right on the Schuman roundabout, right between the headquarters of the European Commission and the European Council building. In the centre of the exhibition was a real wind turbine, 25 meters of height and with a diameter of 20 meters. This 100 kW model is nothing in comparison with the typical modern turbines, usually 20 times more powerful and up to four times bigger. Yet, in the middle of a city, this 40 tonnes white rotating device cut an impressive figure.

The event was unavoidably combined with a press conference attended by EU Commissioner for Energy Andris Piebalgs. “Today we see that the technology is there and we can master whatever is necessary to achieve climate change and security of supply goals,” he said. The association which organised the event pushed the point further, providing data about the current and potential development of wind energy. After the adoption of the 20% binding targets of energy that has to come from renewables by 2020, wind has the possibility to provide in between 12% and 16% of EU electricity. Now, it is at 3%. A lot of work to do.

The press conference ended on a jolly note with Piebalgs breaking a bottle of champagne on the turbine. Maybe symbolically, the bottle broke only at the fourth attempt, when two kids from the audience came to help the commissioner. But this solemn event was not the end of it all - in the evening a party took place in front of the Commission’s Berlaymont building. Steady wind and techno music fuelled several hundred dancers, some of whom flew kites. Yet others, among whom your correspondent, ended up dancing on the stage.

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The French press has barely reported the infamous press conference; even the more left-wing media (Liberation, for example) have been almost silent on the issue. The clip has still not even been broadcast in France - it was first aired by Belgian broadcaster RTBF. The RTBF reporter was subsequently made to apologise. Charles Bremner in The Times and Tim King in Prospect have reviews of the limited coverage.

Yet thanks to good old YouTube, over 3 million people have watched the clip anyway. ”Was he drunk?” has become Question of the Moment in France (well, they needed something to talk about after ”Should Zidane have been sent off?” got boring).

Is this self-censorship? Or something more sinister? Either way, Sarko seems to have the French press firmly in his pocket - perhaps he picked up some tricks from the master over a couple of (bottles of) vodka?

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As of 1 June, Russians travelling to 24 EU countries (not the UK, Ireland and Denmark) will face slightly softer visa regulations. Although the announcement has been talked up by both sides, the changes actually only apply to a few categories of travellers ( members of official delegations, close relatives, students, disabled people, participants of exchange programs, some researchers and children under 6). The changes were agreed at the EU-Russia Summit in Sochi in May 2006.

For a normal Russian citizen, getting an EU tourist visa is still almost impossible. I won’t bore you with the details, but having just tried (and failed) to get an EU visa invite for a friend, I know what a nightmare it is. So a generation of Russians is excluded from the EU, taking their holidays instead in Turkey or Morocco where the visa regimes are friendlier.

Many young Russians have never been to Western Europe or any other liberal democracy. (Though Eastern Europe was a popular holiday destination in Soviet times). Don’t be fooled by the Prada-sporting Russians who have taken over Courchevel – they are a tiny minority. The average well-educated, young professional Muscovite cannot get an EU visa. It is any surprise, then, that many are wholly disinterested in democracy? They see the current Russian ‘opposition’ as a collection of loons, troublemakers and power-seekers.

Western governments are desperate to democratize Russia. But neither headmasterly tickings-off (George W. Bush), or pouring millions into elitist NGOs (George Soros) seems to be working. Perhaps that is because the vast majority of Russians don’t believe the product we’re selling. Having lived through communism, perestroika and the Putin era, Russians are understandably cautious shoppers when it comes to political systems. If a true democratic movement emerges in Russia, it will most likely be from the new middle class. Yet our visa regime denies these very people a taste of what they could fight for. A unilateral easing of the EU’s visa regime with Russia would do a lot for grassroots democracy in Russia.

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The grumpy bus driver turned round: “How many of you want to turn left here?” There was a vague show of hands and a few requests (Naturally, he was still driving whilst carrying on a conversation with the back of the bus). It looked like a majority in favour, so we went left instead of following the official bus route.

On Tuesday, George W Bush made a speech in Prague accusing Putin of slowing democratic reforms. Of course Russia isn’t a model of democracy – it doesn’t want to be either. But I challenge you to find bus-stop democracy in the US or EU…

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1. Tourists - there are lots of them, predominantly German, American and Japanese. Their favourite pastime is to spend hours stuck in traffic on a sightseeing bus and to walk around town with a map, completely disoriented and clueless. Their life is made difficult by the multitude of Hungarian coins in circulation; the smallest denomination, given the current exchange rate, is equal to 0.0000001 eurocents. Most of the pubs and cafes have a mission to take advantage of the gullible foreigners (Beckett’s, a mock Irish pub is a prime example of this tendency).

2. Vaci utca - the central pedestrian area of Budapest where women look like the characters in the articles of Laura Citron, our correspondent in Moscow. I have to confess that I was a bit mislead in the beginning - these ladies were so open and friendly to me, despite my obvious physical shortcomings. Then these kind and benevolent ladies turned their attention to a greasy, fat, Greek ship-owner with a thick moustache. This hurt me so much that my only choice to escape was to deepen my passion for alcohol.

3. Football - once Budapest was the venue of great football games, including Hungary’s famous 7:1 thumping of England. Budapest is still mad about football - Champs League, World Cup, England, Italy…but today Hungarian football is the country’s best-kept secret. Even football-stats geeks find it difficult to name the reigning champion or cup holder. It is like an underground movement which goes public only on special occasions - like Vaduz (Lichtenstein) beating Ujpest FC (Budapest) 4:0 in the UEFA cup, or yet another defeat of the national team at mighty Malta.

Overall, Budapest is a fun place to be. Just avoid looking like a silly tourist and don’t take anything for granted, especially when women are friendly to you without any particular reason. Last but not least, don’t ask questions about the big football rivalry between Ferencvaros and Ujpest. Don’t ask why - you don’t need to know.

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