Fourth session:
Country reports
Peter Gustavsson, Sweden
In Sweden it is still open whether there will be a referendum or not. A majority of people wants it. The government wants to avoid it. The parliament will decide on that question in December 2005. The Swedes can be considered as one of the most EU critical people in Europe.
Magdalena Gornicka, Poland
There is no real debate on the proposed treaty in Poland. Politicians talk a lot about the French referendum but none of them tries to explain the constitution to public. The recent poll shows that 56% of Poles would vote in favour and 15% against. But it is still not certain whether there will be referendum. If there is one, the Polish government would prefer to combine it with presidential elections in September. - The formal decision about the method and date of ratification is affected by the French and Dutch results and will not be taken until early June. - Another problem with the proposed treaty is that its polish translation contains too many mistakes too work on it.
Roger Cole, Ireland
The referendum in Ireland is expected to be held in October 2005. There is no official date, yet. A campaign against the EU Constitution is about to be establisheed. Currently the main restistance comes form the left. There will also be made some efforts to bring businesspeople into the boat. The issue of militarisation of the EU versus neutrality of Ireland will be an important topic in the campaign.
Marta Andreasen, Spain
The Spanish people were not very interested in the topic of the referendum at all. The turnout in the referendum was quite low. The Spanish people did not vote so much on the EU Constitution. They said yes as a thank you to the EU for they were by far the biggest net receiver over the last decade. Spain ratfified the EU Constitution by refrendum, parliament and senate.
Jarmila Novakova, Czech Republic
Currently it is not sure whether there will be a referendum in Czech Republic. Jan Kohout – one of the candidates for the Prime Minister’s office - said he wants to avoid a referendum but prefers ratification in the parliament. Currently experts are analysing whether the constitution could be ratified in the parliament and whether the constitutional majority or the simple majority is needed. However, the date for a possible referendum would be together with the general elections in June 2006. The opposition party, ODS, wants to avoid that date because they are afraid to lose votes if they campaigned against the EU Cosntitution. The Czech president Vaclav Klaus (ODS) is one of Europe's most prominent opponents to the EU Constitution.
Martin Enz, Germany
The German Bundestag ratified the EU Constitution. The Bundesrat will follow end of May, still before the referendum in France. Despite 81% of Germans want to have a say on the Constitution this was denied to them by the government. Peer Gauweilr - a Bavarian Christian Democrat - announced a complaint at Germany's supreme court. This could delay the ratification process of the Constitution. In Germany there is a strong resistance against the Constitution among the peace - and attac movement. The latest poll shows that only 50% of the Germans are in favour of the Constitution.
Miriam Kubalova, Slovak Republic
The Slovak parliament ratified the Constitution already. Despite the Constitution being a basic legal reference of long-term consequence to everyday life of each and every Slovak citizen, most top political representatives remain silent on the document, with some outright misleading the public on it. The fact that ratification of the treaty was made by parliament had been one of the reasons why politicians did not feel the need to explain the issue to people. The people were told that the EU Constitution improves everyday life for the people; that it does not affect the sovereignty of the EU member states; that already in the EU accession referendum, the Slovaks have cast their vote also on the EU Constitution; that few EU states if any are holding a referendum on the Constitution; that rejecting the Constitution would spell the demise of the EU.
Paul Stephenson, UK
In Britain an umbrella campaign against the EU Constitution has been launched. The "No Campaign" consists of individuals from the whole political spectrum - except withdrawalists. Greens, Labour, Conseratives, Liberals, Trade Unionists, businesspeople... it is a broad alliance against the Constitution. Britain is expected to say no in a referendum. Nobody knows how a no in France or Holland would influence Blair's decision to hold a referendum or not.
Jasper van Dijk, Netherlands
The no side in Holland is massively ahead. A poll from the weekend shows that 63% of Dutch is against the Constitution. The government is going to spent 4 M Euro of tax payers' money for the yes campaign. The no campaign alltogether only got 400.000 Euro. The main "argumentes" of the yes-side consist of a threatening scenario what would happen if the Dutch voted no. They reach from a "repetition of Auschwitz" over "war" to "the light will go out". However, a no vote in the Netherlands is definitely possible if not likely.
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