Constitution in jeopardy if Dutch vote No

THE future of the European Constitution could be at serious risk should the Dutch follow the lead of the French and reject it in a referendum tomorrow, Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern said yesterday.

“It has to be acknowledged that, if the French referendum started a rolling No with the Dutch [tomorrow] and so on, it would cause us severe difficulty,” he said.

Almost 55% of French people who voted rejected the constitution in Sunday’s referendum. Opinion polls predict that the Dutch will similarly reject it.