Deafening ‘Non’ shatters EU

PARIS - Half a century of ever closer European integration was dealt a hammer blow yesterday as France rejected a proposed European constitution that would transfer further sovereignty to Brussels.

The titanic "Non" vote will resound for years, but its first likely effects will be to plunge the EU into a crisis and cripple President Jacques Chirac for the last two years of his spell in the Elysee Palace.

At the end of a long and bitterly divisive campaign, around 56 per cent of the electorate voted against the draft EU charter, according to an official count of 85 per cent of votes cast. Turnout was high, at nearly 70 per cent.

Across Europe, there was stunned silence among the federalist cause that for 50 years has driven the continent towards ever closer union, creating a bloc of stability and wealth that is admired around the world.

But joy erupted among Euro-sceptics, who portray the EU as a bureaucratic monster run by an unaccountable elite that undermines national sovereignty.

Other voices said the era of launching grand European schemes was now over unless the EU could restore its support among the public.

In a televised nationwide address, Chirac said he accepted the result, even if it meant problems now lie ahead for France in the EU.

Facing down calls for his resignation, he indicated that he would reshuffle his Cabinet.

"France has expressed its democratic choice. By a majority you have rejected the European constitution. It is your decision and I take note," Chirac said.

"I shall defend the positions of our country, while keeping in mind the message given by French men and women. But let us make no mistake, France's decision inevitably creates a difficult context for the defence of our interests in Europe."

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the result raised "profound questions" about Europe's future and about the ability of the EU to respond to the demands of its citizens.

Austrian far-right populist Joerg Haider said the vote "was a chance for Europe ... We now have to reflect on how to rebuild bridges between the public and their governments."

The "Yes" campaign failed to fire a public whose concerns about the EU had been cleverly exploited by a grassroots "No" effort, although many people also seemed widely confused by what the constitution was about.

Scores of foreign leaders joined the battle by France's two main parties, the Socialists and Chirac's UMP, to plead for solidarity and for a strong EU in a future world dominated by the United States and China. But they made little impact.

In contrast, the far right, traditionalist Gaullists, dissident Socialists, the Communist Party and revolutionary Trotskyists gathered into an unlikely alliance for "No", dishing out a defeat to the two big parties which eerily resembled France's May 2002 presidential upset.

The "No" campaign's successful tactic was to exploit xenophobia, anti-globalisation and alarm about redundancies, bred by Turkey's bid to join the EU and the "Big Bang", in which EU membership surged from 15 to 25 nations last year.

Although the constitution is a quite separate issue, these events have stirred anxiety in France, helping to create the image of a nation powerless in the face of a ruthlessly "liberal" EU machine where jobs migrate to the cheapest economy.

Even among potential "Yes" voters, goodwill towards Europe was often counter-balanced by deep hostility to Chirac.

The French President enjoyed a brief pick-up in popularity two years ago for opposing the US war on Iraq. But his reputation remained otherwise tarnished by charges of past financial sleaze, France's 10 per cent unemployment and his own flip-flops on Europe.

Chirac had staked his credibility on the poll. It was he, in a speech in 2001, who called for a European constitution to help promote a European identity and who insisted that France, a proud founder-member of the EU, would be the first to have a referendum to ratify it.


There then followed years of haggling as a 200-member panel of European parliamentarians, headed by the lofty figure of former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, squabbled over what the constitution should actually contain.


The fruit of their labour was a complex document of more than 200 pages. Instead of uniting everyone around a core of common principles, its length and Euro-fudge offered something for everyone to oppose.

As a result, the referendum campaign often seemed like a bus accident in slow motion - the passengers either oblivious or horrified, a vehicle that was unsound and steered by a driver with impaired judgement.

Yesterday in Paris came the inevitable sounds of bald tyres screeching on the tarmac, crumpled metal and tinkling glass.

Now comes the investigation: can the driver, Chirac get himself off the hook? And can, or should, the vehicle be repaired?

Analysts say the draft constitution is almost certainly doomed, for it has the legal status of a treaty and must be ratified by all 25 members to take effect.

It has now been rejected by a country that was one of the six EU founders and a traditional locomotive of European consolidation.

The emphatic margin of defeat means the document is unlikely to be submitted to a second referendum in France and its complexity means it is almost impossible to renegotiate.

The Netherlands, another founder member, votes in a non-binding referendum tomorrow and again the predicted outcome there is a big "No". Britain, a country riven by the EU, had already signalled that it might call off its own referendum on the constitution if France voted "No".

Many believe it would be absurd to keep the constitution on the ratification track when it has been fatally wounded. Scrapping it would be a slap to the nine countries that have formally endorsed it and to the 15 others that have yet to vote on it.

One of the leading right-wing opponents of the treaty, Philippe de Villiers, said: "Europe has to be rebuilt. The constitution is no more."

But the EU's current president, Luxembourg, said that ratification should proceed in other countries.

French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said the vote was a "real disappointment", but urged other EU countries to go ahead with their own votes.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder agreed, saying the outcome was "a setback for the process of ratifying the constitution but not its end". Italian European Affairs Minister Giorgio La Malfa said: "It's a negative vote, but Europe won't stop there".

But an even bigger problem is the risk of decision-making gridlock. The constitution's one proposal for major change would further reduce the right of national veto and strengthen the powers of the EU Parliament and the Council of Ministers. Without these reforms, decisions that were already difficult when the EU numbered 15 could become almost impossible in a 25-nation Union.

That impending crisis will certainly focus minds in Brussels this week, the start of a new, chilly era for the EU cause.