Give citizens vote on constitution, say campaigners

Date: 14/11/02

By Martin Banks

EU CITIZENS should be allowed to vote on the future European constitution currently being drawn up by the Convention, say campaigners.

Two pressure groups, Democracy International and the Initiative and Referendum Institute (IRI), have joined forces with MEPs to call for an EU-wide referendum on the new constitutional treaty.

They say it should be held at the same time as the elections to the European Parliament in June 2004 and before the draft is debated by EU states' representatives at the Intergovernmental Conference.

The constitution should not be adopted without majority approval of people in all countries involved, the groups say. To support their demands, they presented findings of a survey showing that two-thirds of the electorate took part in referenda organised in Europe over the last 20 years, a much higher turnout than in elections to the European Parliament. The survey was carried out by the IRI.

The groups claim there would be no legal or serious political problems in holding such a referendum apart from in three countries: Malta, Cyprus and Belgium.

Bruno Kaufmann, president of IRI, said the constitution cannot have full legitimacy until it is voted on by Europeans. He said: 'Europeans like this way of taking part in politics. Having a vote assures people they have a voice and that their voice counts.

'Since there is as yet no legal basis for a pan-European referendum, this basis has to be created by a change to the existing treaties or by using the existing laws of member states.'

Finnish Green MEP Heidi Hautala said: 'A referendum of over 500 million people has never been held before so, yes, it would be a big challenge. I also accept that there are legal problems but these can be solved. It remains to be seen whether the political will is or will be strong enough.'

EU citizens should be allowed to vote on the future European constitution currently being drawn up by the Convention, say campaigners.