At the risk of appearing to be gushing, I enthusiastically applaud your draft of the European Constitution, as well as your motives for drafting it. Indeed, the world would be a much worse place without your newspaper, which bravely ventures beyond intelligent commentary. I sincerely hope that your draft will attract considerable attention, and that it will therefore facilitate the emergence of the real thing.

Turning to the particulars of your draft, I would offer one small but important change to Article 2, which concerns the official languages of the European Union: I would add Spanish to English, French, and German. As a university professor concerned with education via the Internet, I am very much aware of the importance of language in the commerce of educational services, as well as other services, covered in your Article 13.

Spanish is not only a major European language, but also a major language on global scale. The commerce in educational services, both residential and remote, would greatly benefit from the Union’s coverage of translation costs for the Spanish language, as well. I am convinced that this amendment would significantly affect many other services within and without the Union.