Spain backs EU treaty
Spain has given a resounding “yes” in the first referendum on the European Union constitution, according to exit polls.
More than seven out of ten Spaniards said “yes” to the question: “Do you approve the treaty establishing a constitution for Europe?” with over 97 per cent of ballots counted.
Turnout was projected at 42 per cent, down on the 50 per cent mark which Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero wanted.
Mr Zapatero wanted the treaty to be given a ringing endorsement and a strong precedent to other countries.
The poll is non-binding as the Spanish Parliament will have the final say.
Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said a “landslide majority” had approved the treaty.
“We Spaniards have shown our European partners that Spain is an advanced country and deeply pro-European.”
In a poll earlier this month, nine out of 10 Spaniards admitted to knowing little about what the EU constitution entailed.
The EU treaty was penned to streamline extant laws after the trading bloc grew from 15 to 25 states in May last year.
Looking to garner support for a vote in their own country, French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder both urged Spaniards to say yes.
Hungary, Lithuania and Slovenia have already ratified the EU constitution in parliamentary votes.
All 25 members of the EU must ratify the treaty – signed last year – through a parliamentary vote or national plebiscite – for it to become law.
France is expected to hold a referendum in May or June, with a British vote anticipated in 2006. The deadline for ratification is November 2006.
A spokesman for Britain in Europe last night said: “As more countries vote in favour of the treaty, the consequences of a British ‘no’ vote and the risks of isolation from the rest of Europe become more clear.”
Labour MP Ian Davidson said the turnout in Spain would worry the Blair government.
“If turnout doesn’t even reach 50 per cent in a country like Spain, what hope does Tony Blair have of enthusing voters here?” he said.
“The Spanish government and the EU commission poured money into a pro-constitution propaganda campaign but it hasn’t worked.”
