Bundestag set to back European Union constitution

Germany's lower house of parliament is expected to give strong backing today to the European Union constitution, in a move designed to send a signal of support to the French Yes campaign ahead of the referendum in France on May 29.

Parliamentary supporters of the constitution predicted yesterday they would easily exceed the necessary two-thirds majority in the 601-seat Bundestag, since all the mainstream political parties back the new charter.

Approximately 20 legislators from the government and opposition benches are expected to vote against or abstain, complaining that the constitution reduces the Bundestag's influence.

The upper house of parliament, representing the regional states, is expected to give Germany's final endorsement to the treaty in a vote on May 27.

The German government and parliamentary leaders have urged the French in recent weeks to vote Yes, warning of paralysis in Europe if the No camp wins.
In an interview published yesterday in France's Nouvel Observateur magazine, Joschka Fischer, the German foreign minister, "humbly" asked voters to back the treaty. Explaining that the European project was mainly a French project, Mr Fischer said: "Marianne cannot deny her own child."

Germany has been one of the firmest advocates of the constitution, and support from both houses of parliament has never seriously been in doubt. Last year Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's Social Democratic party floated the idea of changing the German constitution to allow for a referendum, but later dropped the proposal.

Despite not having the chance to vote, the public is broadly supportive of the new constitution, with a poll last weekend showing 59 per cent of Germans would vote Yes in a referendum, with 15 per cent against and 26 per cent undecided.

Despite this, the build-up to today's decision has been framed by growing scepticism among political parties and the public in Germany towards aspects of the EU, including enlargement and inward migration, membership talks with Turkey and services sector liberalisation.

In addition, in a bid to win over conservative rebels who threatened to vote against the constitution, the Christian Democrat-led opposition and the ruling coalition have agreed on new procedures that give parliament added rights to demand information from the government on its decisions relating to EU matters.

Wolfgang Schäuble, CDU foreign affairs spokesman and a leading supporter of the constitution, told the FT: "Compared to the current situation, the new constitution brings only improvements [for Europe]. We should not over-dramatise it when a few colleagues vote against."

Source: FT