Leaders urge yes vote as treaty opposition rises

EUROPEAN Union leaders urged voters to back the EU constitution on Friday in a sign of growing concern in Brussels over opinion polls that show French opposition to the charter is still rising.

A new poll by research group MarketTools showed 62% of people who have decided how to vote plan to reject the constitution in a referendum on May 29, four percentage points more than the previous peak.

MarketTools surveys have generally put support for the "No" camp higher than other polls but there is no mistaking the trend because all opinion polls in the past month have pointed to defeat for the constitution.

EU leaders are increasingly concerned France will reject the treaty and cause a crisis of confidence unsettling European financial markets because the treaty needs the approval of all 25 member states.

"Europe will not fall apart, but it will be a setback if the constitutional treaty is rejected," European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said in the Netherlands, which votes on the treaty three days after France.

The charter is intended to make EU decision-making easier following last May's enlargement.

Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, whose country holds the EU presidency until the end of June, urged French people to think about the consequences of their vote.

He told La Croix newspaper Europe would continue to develop if France voted no. "But we would lose two decades, during which certain parts of the world would move ahead by adopting Europe's model, while others would catch up with us," Mr Juncker said.

He said it was unrealistic to think as some opponents of the treaty suggest that the constitution would be renegotiated if France rejected it.