UK's EU treaty referendum postponed

Britain has “postponed” ratification of the European Union constitution, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw announced today.

The EU Council, not the UK, will decide the future of the treaty in the wake of rejection by Holland and France, he said.

But in the circumstances it would not now be sensible to press ahead with a referendum in Britain, Mr Straw told MPs.

French president Jacques Chirac and other EU leaders have urged all countries to continue with ratification, as the treaty demands.

The British parliament was due to consider a Bill paving the way for a referendum shortly.

But Mr Straw said that until the consequences of the French and Dutch “no” votes became clear, “it would not in our judgment be sensible to set a date for the Bill to be considered”.

He told the House of Commons: “We shall, of course, keep the situation under review. I should emphasise that it is not for the UK alone to decide the future of the Treaty and it remains our view that it represents a sensible new set of rules for the enlarged European Union.

“We reserve completely the right to bring back the Bill providing for a UK referendum should circumstances change. But we see no point in proceeding at this moment.”