Austria calls for Europe-wide referendum on EU constiturion

Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel believes a continent-wide referendum on the European Union constitution could be used to resolve the impasse over the charter, according to a newspaper interview released today.

The stalemate started with the charter’s rejection in mid-2005 by French and Dutch voters. Last month, the 25 EU leaders extended by a year their “pause for reflection” on what to do next.

Schuessel, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, was quoted as telling Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper that “something new” was needed – “that could be a new name, for instance treaty or basic law.”

“It also could be a new procedure,” Schuessel said, according to a preview of the interview. “I can well imagine a referendum that takes place simultaneously in all EU states. The constitution would be accepted if the majority of the European population and the majority of states approves.”

Schuessel cautioned, however, that “such proposals will have to come from those countries in which the constitution was rejected – in other words from France and the Netherlands.”

Efforts to relaunch the constitution are expected to reappear on the agenda when Germany holds the EU presidency in the first half of 2007.

This week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that, once the “pause for reflection” ends, decisions on what to do next should be made within 18 months.

The proposed constitution was meant to ensure simpler, faster decision-making in the expanding EU and help raise the bloc’s status as a global player.