BRITAIN/EU: A strong indication that British voters would not be given the opportunity to have their say on the proposed European Union constitution was given yesterday by the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, writes Derek Scally in Berlin
In an interview with the Times newspaper, Mr Blair said it would "not be a wise thing" to have the government "convulsed" for months preparing for a referendum on the issue.
"Lots of countries have traditions of holding referendums on these issues but we do not. Actually the majority of the countries in the European Union are not geared to having a referendum."
He added: "It is only here that we are taken as having sold something out. We have not. Foreign policy, defence, tax all remain the prerogatives of the nation state . . .
"To put us into a position where the whole of government turns round, when we have parliamentary process that debates the European constitution, to have the whole of government convulsed for months over a referendum on the European constitution would not be a wise thing."
The Times said Mr Blair effectively agreed that he was really saying no to a referendum "under any circumstances".
In Poland, meanwhile, newspapers have printed an open letter signed by leading intellectuals, business leaders and scientists urging the government there to compromise on the EU constitution.
Poland, with Spain, has among other issues refused to agree to a reduction in voting weights agreed three years ago at the Nice summit,a tactic described by one Polish politician as "Nice or death".
"According to all official statements, maintaining the agreements reached in Nice \ absolutely necessary to our interest," said the letter, signed by 230 people. "We are deeply concerned that presenting our interest as opposite to that of Europe does not serve our good.
"We fear that, in consequence, Europe may be split in two: a united group of dynamically developing states and a marginal group resisting integration - we fear that we may find ourselves in this margin."
Fighting for the status quo could sour Poland's accession to the EU next May, the letter argued, while presenting the issue of vote-weighting as a win-lose issue for Poland also risked ignoring the wider consequences of EU integration.
Mr Leszek Miller, the Polish Prime Minister, has threatened to call a referendum on the EU constitution unless Poland's changes are included in the final draft.