UK relationship with EU could be soured by constitution rejection

Monday, 3 January 2005 12:00 AM

Serious questions about the UK's relationship with the rest of European Union would be raised if Britons reject Europe's proposed constitution, the EU's foreign policy chief has said.

Although Javier Solano said that it would not be "the end of the world" if the UK rejected the constitution, he warned BBC Radio 4's Today programme that a "No" vote in Britain would raise questions about the nation's relations with those countries that voted in favour of the treaty.

"It would open up the question of the relationship of the UK with the other members of the EU that voted "Yes", said Mr Solano.

"That would be a very important moment in the history of the EU and in the history of your country."

Despite stressing that a British rejection of the controversial treaty would not exclude the country from the "European family", Mr Solano urged Prime Minister Tony Blair to mount a "solid campaign" to secure a "Yes" vote.

"I am sure he is going to defend the constitution as a good thing for the UK and a good thing for Europe as a whole," he said.

Britain is expected to hold a referendum on the proposed constitution in spring 2006, with the Government arguing that the treaty is necessary to speed-up the decision making process in the enlarged EU.

But the Conservatives claim that the proposed constitution will harm Britain's interests. Speaking in November, Tory leader Michael Howard said: "The constitution will make Europe's economy even less flexible, even less competitive and even more sluggish than it is today."

Each of the EU's 25 member states must approve the constitution by parliamentary vote or referendum before it can take effect. So far only new members, Hungary and Lithuania have ratified the treaty with a parliamentary vote.

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