E AGORA... PARA QUÊ O REFERENDO EM PORTUGAL?
O governo britânico confirmou oficialmente esta segunda-feira que não vai realizar o referendo sobre a Constituição para a Europa.
O ministro britânico dos Negócios Estrangeiros, Jack Straw, foi encarregue de anunciar a decisão do governo de Tony Blair no Parlamento.
O ministro britânico dos Negócios Estrangeiros, Jack Straw, foi encarregue de anunciar a decisão do governo de Tony Blair no Parlamento.
posted by Zé da Ponte @ 6.6.05
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Government to shelve British EU vote
Matthew Tempest and agencies
Monday June 6, 2005
Downing Street confirmed today it did not 'make sense' to hold a British referendum on the EU constitution following the French and Dutch no votes.
Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, will confirm its postponement, and the shelving of the legislation necessary for the poll, when he addresses MPs at 3.30pm.
This morning the prime minister's official spokesman insisted Tony Blair was "not running away" from a referendum but said it "does not make sense" to press ahead after the French and Dutch no votes.
If there is a constitution to vote on, there will be a referendum in this country," he said. "The position at the moment is that obviously, following the French and Dutch votes, there is an issue to be discussed at the European council.
"Now given that, it does not make sense to proceed at this point, but that does not mean that we are withdrawing the possibility of British people voting if there is a constitution to vote on."
The European Union bill has already been introduced to the Commons, but a date for its second reading - the big set-piece occasion for MPs' debate - has not yet been set.
While the French president, Jacques Chirac, and the EU commission president, Jose Manuel Barroso have urged other member states to continue their ratification processes for the constitution, today's announcement should all but sound the death knell for a British vote.
Although no date for the referendum - the first nationwide poll on Europe since 1975 - had been set, it had been expected in spring 2006, making Britain one of the last member states to hold a referendum.
A further pressure on Britain came today from Warsaw, as the Polish foreign minister announced the country's referendum would go ahead despite the French and Dutch results.
Adam Rotfeld said the vote, pencilled in for the autumn, may take place on October 9 coinciding with presidential elections to ensure high turnout.
Although today's announcement does not preclude the legislation being reintroduced at a later date, it seems to signal a clear intent from the government not to hold a referendum while the constitution itself is in danger of being seen as a dead duck.
Mr Blair's spokesman insisted Britain was not pre-empting the EU council later this month.
"What we are doing is reflecting the fact that we are in uncertain times," he said.
"In uncertain times you should not just give a knee-jerk response. You should try and think your way forward as to what the implications are."
He added: "In an uncertain period you do not proceed unless you do get certainty and, therefore, I think the important thing is that we recognise that we are in an uncertain period.
The head of Labour's block of anti-EU backbenchers, Ian Davidson MP, today told the BBC the constitution was dead - "a corpse on the floor with two stakes driven through its heart".
The Conservatives' strongest pro-EU voice, Kenneth Clarke, agreed, saying the constitution was "over".
He told the BBC: "After these two referendums it is over. In this country people would think you were dotty if you went ahead with a referendum on a treaty which is plainly no more."
But the Liberal Democrats intend to use Mr Straw's emergency statement to propose that three key segments of the constitution are preserved.
Nick Clegg, a former MEP and now the party's foreign affairs spokesman, wants the council of ministers to open up its proceedings by taking decisions about new EU laws in public, million-strong "citizens petitions" across the EU to be considered for legislation and a review that all decisions are taken at the lowest possible political level - the "subsidiarity priniciple".
Mr Clegg said these three innovations could be incorporated without a new constitution.
He said: "Whatever doubts there may be about the future of the treaty, we should not throw the baby out with the bathwater. There are good things in the constitutional treaty to which no one who wants positive reform and improvement can object.
Tony Blair takes over the revolving presidency of the EU on July 1, while a summit of EU leaders later this month is expected to make clear where the 25 members now stand on the constitution.
Britain's EU commissioner, Peter Mandelson, has urged the government to hold fire until that meeting.
He is quoted by the BBC as saying: "I think what I'd like to hear from the British government is a preparedness to hold their fire until the following week, and sit down with their partners, the other 24 member states, the heads of government, and, following their period of reflection, consider what the best way forward is in these circumstances."
The constitution itself would create a permanent EU president, on a two-and-a-half year posting, a permanent foreign minister, a diplomatic corps and extend the policy areas for qualified majority voting (reducing member states vetoes).
However, a large number of French voters turned against the constitution for seemingly enshrining the pro-market "Lisbon agenda" of making the EU the most competitive economic block in the world at the expense of the traditional "social market" espoused by France and Germany.
O processo está morto.
Finalmente alguem lhe mandou a certidão de óbito.
Senhor Presidente da República, Sr. Primeiro-ministro e todos os apaniguados do «Sim».
Com esta tomada de posição Inglesa, o enterro já foi e teve poucos a velar a Constituição para a Europa.
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