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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Europe scrambles to salvage charter

William J. Kole Associated Press

PARIS – The dramatic French “no” to the European Union’s first constitution and indications the Netherlands will deliver the same verdict this week have European leaders scrambling to contain damage to the bloc’s unification project.

Is the historic charter, which needs to be ratified by all 25 EU nations, doomed?

French opponents of the document insist it can be altered to suit their tastes, and history suggests they may be right: In 1992, Denmark stunned the bloc by rejecting a landmark unification treaty, only to approve a revision a year later.

Yet prospects for salvaging the constitution – and the EU’s effort to become more of a global player – remain unclear.

“There will be no rerun in the foreseeable future,” said John Palmer, political director of the European Policy Center, a think tank based in Brussels, Belgium.

Clues about whether EU leaders can eventually muster the political will for charter revisions or a complete overhaul could come at a two-day summit of EU leaders in mid-June in Brussels.

“The treaty may not be dead, but it is gravely – possibly fatally – wounded,” Palmer said.

The rejection also was a severe blow to France’s government. President Jacques Chirac, who campaigned hard for the charter, was expected to announce a shake-up of his Cabinet today.

The EU common currency, the euro, dropped below $1.25 to its lowest level against the dollar since October.

Nine countries – Austria, Hungary, Italy, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain – have ratified the constitution, and EU leaders vow the process will continue in other members despite France’s fierce “no.”

“When faced with difficulties, it is where we expect our politicians to show determination and vision to rally together for Europe,” said EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

Next up is the Netherlands, which holds a referendum Wednesday. Polls suggest the Dutch are at least as opposed as the French, and a defeat in another founding member of the EU could be a potential knockout punch for the treaty.

That vote is being closely watched in Britain, where “Euroskeptic” sentiment is even stronger than in France or the Netherlands. Prime Minister Tony Blair said Monday it was too early to tell if Britain would go ahead with a referendum on the constitution as planned.

EU leaders, who signed the constitution in October, contend it would streamline operations and decision-making and improve accountability. It also would create an EU president and foreign minister, raising Europe’s profile on the global stage by giving it the ability to speak with one voice.

The constitution itself makes clear all EU members must ratify the text for it to take effect as planned by Nov. 1, 2006. But it also says EU leaders will discuss what to do if, by October 2006, four-fifths of member states have ratified the treaty but even one has “encountered difficulties” getting it accepted.

A key problem will be pinpointing exactly what Europeans do not like about the charter, and what minimal changes they would be willing to live with.

In France, the rejection was widely seen as a referendum on the direction Europe is taking as it tries to compete with the more cutthroat economies of the United States, China and, increasingly, India.

Many French voters appeared to use the referendum to vent frustration over fears of losing their voice, identity and control, along with their generous social welfare system – objections that seemed to have little to do with the constitution.