The Hindu : International : Britain shelves move to hold vote on E.U. statute

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 07, 2005

International

International

Britain shelves move to hold vote on E.U. statute

Hasan Suroor

There is need for further "discussions'' by E.U. leaders: Jack Straw

LONDON: Britain, on Monday, decided to "postpone'' plans for a referendum on the controversial European Union Constitution in the wake of emphatic "no'' votes in France and the Netherlands.

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told the Commons that the Government would not continue with the "second reading'' of the bill that would have paved the way for a referendum next year. But he kept the doors open for a rethink by not withdrawing the bill altogether.

Mr. Straw said the bill could be brought back "should the circumstances change''. But at this stage, there seemed no point in pressing ahead with it until the "profound'' questions thrown up by the results of the French and Dutch referendums were resolved.

There was need for further "discussions'' and "decisions'' by E.U. leaders, he said. The issue would be discussed at an emergency summit of E.U. leaders late next week.

The decision, which had been widely expected after Prime Minister Tony Blair's call for a "time for reflection'' following the rejection of the constitution by French and Dutch voters, was seen as a snub to Germany and France who want the ratification process to continue.

Observers described the decision as a "challenge'' to the French and German attempts to drive the change in Europe regardless of the wishes of the people.

Hours before Mr. Straw made the announcement, The Times said that Britain was "challenging the arrangement'' under which France and Germany tended to "impose'' decisions on other E.U. member-states. It also reported that British officials were engaged in "intense'' efforts to gather allies to counter a "Franco-German axis'' ahead of next week's E.U. summit.

Mr. Blair, who takes over the E.U.'s rotating presidency next month, had planned to call a referendum next spring year as the last grand moment before his proposed departure from Downing Street towards the end of his current term.

Britain is as deeply divided over the E.U. Constitution as voters in most other European countries, and after the decisive "no'' votes in France and the Netherlands it would have been uphill task for Mr. Blair to win a referendum.

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