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Poland deals new blow to wounded EU constitution
EFL: Poland dealt a fresh blow to the European Union's wounded constitution on Tuesday, saying it may delay a planned referendum despite efforts by France, which voted against the charter first, to keep the treaty alive. Aleksander Kwasniewski, president of the bloc's largest new member, said he might put off the vote from his favored October date if next week's EU summit took no decision on the fate of the constitution. Poland should not set a date until the bloc had discussed the crisis caused by the rejection of the charter by French and Dutch voters, he told public radio in an interview, noting Britain had just shelved plans to hold its own referendum. Kwasniewski raised the prospect that EU leaders might either decide on June 16-17 to call a pause in ratification, or fail to agree on any joint way forward. "(At the summit) we may decide to give ourselves a few months and meet (again) when we are better prepared," he said. "A lack of a decision is also a decision." Opinion polls in countries such as Denmark, Poland and even Luxembourg, which plan to hold referendums, have shown a sharp swing toward the "No" camp since the French and Dutch results, threatening more governments with a humiliating defeat. Posted by: Steve 2005-06-07 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=121006 |