A French lesson for Europe? A guide to the referenda on the EU constitutional treaty
On 29 May 2005 France will hold the second of ten national referenda on the EU constitutional treaty. The 25 EU governments have until November 2006 to ratify the treaty. Legally, if one of the governments fails to ratify the treaty, it cannot come into force. According to current opinion polls, there is a strong chance that France will vote No, which would probably kill off the treaty for good. Even if France votes Yes on 29 May the treaty still faces a difficult passage in referenda in other countries. These include the Netherlands, which votes on 1 June, and Britain, which is set to vote next year.
Daniel Keohane was a senior research fellow at the CER (2001-2006).
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