Current status on EU Constitution:
• The planned referendum on the EU Constitution was cancelled on 6 June 2005 after French and Dutch rejections
• polls taken after the French and Dutch referenda registered an 80% opposition to the Constitution.
UPDATES
• 01 February 2007: Writing in the Times, Philip Webster reports that “Britain will refuse to sign up to minor changes in the running of the European Union unless it secures a pledge that there will be no revival of the European constitution”.
• 05 May 2006: According to the Eurobarometer results:
- 33% think their country's EU membership is "a good thing" (third lowest)
- 17% chose "a common constitution" when asked to choose two from six options concerning what "would be most helpful for the Future of Europe"
- 14% chose "a common constitution" when asked to choose two from six options concerning what "would strengthen your feelings about being a European citizen." (second lowest)
Snippets:
• Although insisting it was needed, prime minister Tony Blair has acknowledged that the Constitution failed to connect with citizens. In a speech at Oxford in February 2006 he said:
“Apart from better rules of internal governance, no-one in Europe knew what it was meant to solve. As the problems of the citizen grew ever more pressing, instead of bold policy reform and decisive change, we locked ourselves in a room at the top of the tower and debated things no ordinary citizen could understand. And yet I remind you the Constitution was launched under the title of Bringing Europe closer to its citizens.”