Britons split over EU treaty
Britain is the only country in Europe where more voters oppose the EU constitution than back it, a new poll has found.
The TNS opinion & social poll for the EU Commission found thirty per cent of Britons were opposed to the treaty, 20 per cent in favour and half unsure.
In its Eurobarometer report, the commission said the UK stood out among its 24 European partners in having more opponents to the constitution than supporters.
Support for the constitution was highest in Italy (72 per cent) and Belgium (70 per cent).
Across the board, only 11 per cent of citizens say they are familiar with the treaty, while 56 per cent say they know little; 33 per cent admitted to complete ignorance.
Across the 25 nations of the EU, just under half (49 per cent) of citizens backed the constitution. A total of 16 per cent were opposed.
The report found Britons unable to correctly answer 61 per cent of questions about the treaty.
In the UK, Ireland and Germany, the report discerned fear of losing national sovereignty as the principal reason for opposition to the treaty.
Britain is expected to hold a referendum in 2006. This week, the Government introduced a bill detailing the precise question to be asked in the poll. The bill will be debated in parliament on February 9th.
The question is: “Should the United Kingdom approve the treaty establishing a constitution for the European Union?”
The draft treaty – signed by EU heads of state in October – paves the way for a permanent president and foreign minister for the first time.
For the draft treaty to be ratified, all 25 nations in the newly-expanded trading bloc must win backing either through parliament or in a referendum.
To date, Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, Denmark, Cyprus and Poland, have said they will hold national plebiscites.
Spain is set to hold a referendum on the constitution on February 20th.
A rejection would destroy the treaty in its current form, forcing re-negotiation or some countries to leave the EU.
The Lithuanian and Hungarian parliaments have already ratified the constitution.
Yes campaign supporter and Labour MEP Richard Corbett called on governments, NGOs and EU institutions to launch an information campaign to win over eurosceptic voters.
Jan Marinus Wiersma, socialist group vice-president in the European parliament, agreed with the sentiment.
“Better-informed people are more likely to form a positive assessment of the constitution – an intensive effort is going to be needed,” he said.
Chris Heaton-Harris, Conservative MEP took a different view, asking rhetorically: “Can you imagine how much worse the figures will look when the British public knows more, and realises the constitution will suck powers away from Britain?”
Critics of the treaty claim Britain will lose out economically and politically if it is ratified.
Supporters of the treaty describe it as a legal mechanism to tidy up extant laws across the continent.
The Eurobarometer poll interviewed 24,786 EU citizens between October 27th and November 29th last year.
