I’ve been writing a lot about the EU lately, and I apologize to both our readers if I’m boring you. But it’s been an eventful week.

Today, Nikos Konstandaras, the editor of a Greek newspaper, pens an opinion piece for the Washington Post website about last week’s Irish vote rejecting the Lisbon Treaty. If you haven’t been paying attention — and you may be excused for your apathy — the Lisbon Treaty was the compromise for structural EU reform following the defeat of the EU Constitution in 2005.

In his analysis, Konstandaras essentially blames Irish voters for holding up progress across Europe. He implies that they are stupid and provincial, blaming the defeat on “more domestic concerns regarding abortion, taxes and jobs that seem to have swayed their vote.” He goes on to urge European leaders to ignore the vote and press ahead.

Alas, Konstandaras’ argument, which has been embraced by other European commentators, is as arrogant as it is incorrect. And its tenor exemplifies why efforts to reform the EU continue to go down to defeat.

So, what did he get wrong?

Start with a simple, undeniable fact: Had the same referendum been held in virtually any other European nation, including France, Germany and the UK, it almost certainly would have been defeated. That’s exactly the reason that none of those nations’ governments put the treaty up for a vote. So the Irish vote, which Konstandaras wants to cast aside, was the one and only barometer for popular sentiment.

So, why are voters ready to stand in the way of reform? In short, it comes down to trust. Europeans, by and large, seem to instinctively understand that the EU is broken, and they are wary about handing any further power to Brussels bureaucrats.

Further, the EU is not a democratic institution, and Europeans increasingly seem to realize that. They elect MEPs, but they seem largely irrelevant in the European system. It’s the commissioners and bureaucrats who hold the power. And creating a European president seems a step in the wrong direction.

This shortcoming of democracy is exhibited, time after time, through arrogance. Indeed, the very arrogance that Konstandaras demonstrates by offhandedly dismissing the Irish vote.

I haven’t been in Europe long enough to have a strong opinion about the value of the EU, the Lisbon Treaty or any of the other fine points of European politics. But if I were advising those that think the EU needs to be a strong institution with a structure that allows greater flexibility and decisiveness, I would tell them in clear terms that they have to start listening. Their arrogance is undermining their case and making success harder and harder to achieve.