|
France's Chirac tries to save EU Constitution
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-04-15 09:06
French President Jacques Chirac began his campaign to save the European Union
constitution on Thursday by warning voters that France could "cease to exist
politically" in the EU if they reject it in a referendum.
Chirac mixed warnings of dire consequences and gentle lecturing on the
content of the constitution in a live televised debate with 83 young people, in
which he began a mission to turn back a rising tide of opposition before the
vote on May 29.
He said the treaty could not be renegotiated if voters reject it but that he
would not resign over the treaty on which he has staked his personal prestige.
French President Jacques Chirac, right,
gestures during a live television appearance at the Elysee Palace in
Paris, Thursday April 14, 2005. Chirac has chosen a televised two-hour
debate with 80 young French peolple to make his first campaign pitch for a
'Yes' in the May 29 referendum. [AP] | "If by chance France did not vote in favor, France would at least for a
certain time cease to exist politically at the heart of this Europe," the
president said in his concluding comments after a more than two-hour debate at
his Elysee palace.
Asked if he might resign if the referendum failed, he said: "No. That is not
the question French people are being asked."
Chirac entered the fray with opinion polls showing the anti-treaty campaign
is clearly ahead just six weeks before the referendum. The surveys point to deep
discontent with high unemployment and with France's declining influence in
Europe.
The charter is intended to make decision-making easier following the
admission of 10 new members last May. Rejection could cause a crisis at the
heart of the Union because the treaty requires the approval of all 25 EU member
states.
Chirac, who sat in a chair at a desk as he fielded questions under sparkling
chandeliers, urged voters not to mix their dissatisfaction with domestic
political and economic matters with the issues at stake in the vote on the
constitution.
DON'T BE ASHAMED
"We have no reason to be ashamed of Europe, the first economic power in the
world," Chirac said. "You need rules to be organized. These rules are provided
in the constitution."
He dismissed the argument of the "No" camp that the constitution can be
renegotiated to make it better. Renegotiating a treaty that was agreed by EU
leaders last year after years of discussion was not realistic, he said.
"In reality you would have 24 countries that voted yes and then the black
sheep that blocked everything," he said. "France would be weakened
considerably."
He said the charter adopted by EU leaders last year would strengthen France
and Europe by giving the Union rules that would govern it better and help it
size up in a world with other big powers such as the United States and China.
Chirac, 72, delayed his first foray into the campaign in the hope he could
give the treaty's supporters a late boost to claw back the lead from the "No"
camp. He feared the campaign would lose momentum if he entered too soon.
Chirac's center-right supporters say his strong campaigning skills hold the
key to victory, but critics say the president is so unpopular in some quarters
that his decision to back the constitution openly could backfire.
Supporters say a "No" vote could halt EU integration and ensure decisions are
slow and hard to reach because the current voting system is unsuitable for a
larger Union.
Some financial analysts also say a political crisis caused by the treaty's
rejection could undermine the euro currency and unnerve financial markets in
countries aspiring to join the EU.
But the constitution's critics say the European Union is better off without
it and the euro would not be undermined.
| |
 |
|
|
|
|
Today's
Top News |
|
|
|
Top World
News |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
