EC Veto

The League of Nations was a precursor to the United Nations. It was founded after the first worldwar to find a peaceful way to solve conflicts.
Jean Monnet was deputy to the secretary-general. On the failure of the League of Nations (we wouldn't have had a second world war if it had succeeded) he said:
The veto is at once the cause and the symbol of the inability to go beyond national self-interest.

- In Europa - Geert Mak

After the second world war Monnet became an important architect of the European Community.
With the current discussion on the European constitution, the veto is still haunting his brain child.