“In spite of the trauma caused by the negative vote in the referenda in France and Holland, the process of ratification of the Constitution is continuing in various countries. Other states, by contrast, have chosen to suspend the process”. This is the conclusion drawn from the situation on the website of the European Parliament. The EU Constitution is an international treaty which must be ratified by the individual States according to their own rules: either by parliamentary ratification or by referendum, or by both procedures. “So far, thirteen countries have already ratified the European Constitution: Luxembourg (56.52%) and Spain (76.7%) through referenda, the other countries (Germany, Austria, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovenia and Slovakia) by parliamentary vote. In Belgium, ratification is taking place by a complex procedure that is now approaching its conclusion. Sweden has decided to postpone its vote in Parliament and Finland is preparing to follow suit”. Denmark, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Ireland and the UK (in these latter two counties the double procedure is envisaged) have preferred to suspend ratification and wait before holding a popular consultation. Poland and Estonia have still to choose the procedure. At the present time only two of the 25 member states of the EU have expressed their rejection of the Constitution through a referendum: France (54.8%) and Holland (61.7%). This thumbs down represented for many “the demise of the Constitutional Treaty”. However, “it’s not the first time in the history of the construction of Europe that a European treaty has been rejected through a referendum. In 1992, the Danes said ‘no’ to the Treaty of Maastricht, and in 2001 the Irish rejected the Treaty of Nice. For these two countries the rejection was attributable to some specific points of the treaties and, after some adjustments made to the texts, a second referendum was held and the “yes” vote emerged victorious. On the other hand, the refusal by the French National Assembly to ratify the treaty that established the European Defence Community in 1954 delivered the coup de grace to that political project”. Nor should it be forgotten that a declaration annexed to the Constitutional Treaty affirms that “if at the end of a period of two years from the signing of the Treaty, four-fifths of the member states have ratified the said treaty and one or more member states have encountered difficulties in the ratification procedures, the question shall be deferred to the European Council”. So if on 29 October 2006 twenty states of the EU have approved the Constitution, “from 1st November on the European Council shall be called to evaluate the situation and take a decision. The Constitution makes no particular provision if a lower number of countries should ratify the treaty”. However, so long as the Constitutional Treaty does not enter into force, the Treaty of Nice shall remain valid. ———————————————————————————————————– Sir Europa (English) N.ro assoluto : 1417 N.ro relativo : 66 Data pubblicazione : 27/09/2005
