Luxembourg backs EU treaty
Supporters of the European Union constitution claimed that the treaty still had a future yesterday after voters in Luxembourg voted ‘yes’ in a referendum.
The EU’s second smallest country after Malta, which is home to 450,000 citizens, became the 13th country to back the constitution with a vote of 56.52 per cent to 43.5 per cent.
With France and Holland already voting ‘no’, Luxembourg prime minister Jean Claude Juncker had promised to step down if the country rejected the controversial treaty, which was drawn up in October last year to streamline decision-making across the EU.
“If Luxembourg had said ‘no’ the constitution would have been dead. As Luxembourg has said ‘yes’ the process can go ahead. There is a way for the European constitution to be adopted,” Mr Juncker said.
However, European commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said the future of the constitution, which must be ratified by all 25 members states, was “unsure”.
