UK looking to shelve EU constitution process after No votes in France, Holland News
UK looking to shelve EU constitution process after No votes in France, Holland

[JURIST] In the wake of decisive referendum defeats for the proposed EU Constitution this week in France [JURIST report] and the Netherlands [JURIST report], UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw [official profile] is expected to announce in the House of Commons on Monday that the legislation for a British referendum on the constitution will be suspended [London Times report]. The constitution needs to be ratified by all EU member nations to go into effect. A European summit is scheduled for June 16-17 [Christian Science Monitor report] to determine the future of the process. Luxembourg is the next country to vote on the charter in a referendum scheduled for July 10, and Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker [official profile], who currently also holds the rotating presidency of the European Council, has promised to resign [AFP report] if voters there reject the constitution. Even in Luxembourg, however, No support has surged from 24 percent to 41 percent since October. A Danish referendum is still scheduled for September, but recent polls show a swing from an 8-point lead for Yes to a 9-point lead to No. Irish leaders say they will continue to plan for a referendum but will wait until after the summit to make final plans.