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Spain and France make EU appeal


Talon

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Spain and France make EU appeal

Spain's prime minister and France's president have appealed to Spanish voters to back the EU constitution in an upcoming referendum on the issue.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said the constitution would give EU members a common identity while maintaining their individuality.

President Jacques Chirac called for a massive "yes" vote, to serve as an example to the rest of the EU.

The referendum on 20 February is the first such vote in the EU.

Spaniards are being asked to answer the question: "Do you approve the treaty instituting a constitution for Europe?"

Speaking at a meeting in Barcelona, Mr Chirac said the proposed constitution would allow help Europe "to assume its responsibilities".

"It is by unifying that Europeans will be strong. Without union, they will disappear," he added.

Mr Zapatero said a "yes" vote would give the EU "prosperity and solidarity" and would banish the concepts of war and dictatorship.

The meeting was attended by up to 2,000 people, mostly members of the governing Socialist Party.

Meanwhile several hundred opponents of the treaty gathered outside.

Turnout

An opinion poll showed the majority of Spaniards still had no idea what the constitution is about, despite a multi-million-dollar information campaign.

But Spaniards are among the most passionate Europeans and say they will vote "yes" anyway, the BBC's Katya Adler in Madrid reports.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Mr Chirac are hoping that a strong "yes" vote in Spain will set an example for their own citizens.

But so far, even with millions of euros spent on television and radio referendum publicity, it is proving difficult to motivate the public, our correspondent says.

One survey shows that only 55% of Spaniards will bother to cast their ballot.

If just one of the 25 EU member states fails to ratify the constitution, it cannot legally take effect. Slovenia, Lithuania and Hungary have already ratified the text by parliamentary vote.

Mr Schroeder and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi pulled out of the summit in Barcelona because of flu.

But both sent messages of support which were read out at the meeting.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/worl...ope/4257175.stm

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Any thing chiraq says will be lies..how can you believe a man who should be in PRISON for what he has done in the past and got away with

A united Europe dont make me laugh no.gif

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A united Europe dont make me laugh 

People probably once said something similar about the idea of a united America

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They might have LOTTIE but this is my view and i dont think it will work,i have stated before my reasons on many threads,but as i say this is only my view

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I think this constitution is a great thing. In my opinion, people can only benefit from the further uniting of European nations...but i'm an optimist

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People probably once said something similar about the idea of a united America

Yeah but Americans had much more in common with each other than Europeans do... most Americans came from the same cultural background (British and maybe some dutch and french).

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Seems like a good idea to me; has there been any discussion from what problems may arise if this goes through?

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people fear many cultures will disappear and everybody will be the same

I think it is a great idea. A united europe

Edited by Hotoke
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What I mean is the above???

I didn't know anyone had me.

I'm confused too

Yeah but Americans had much more in common with each other than Europeans do... most Americans came from the same cultural background (British and maybe some dutch and french).

Doesn't really matter though, who knows what Europeans in 50 years time will see each other as.

it is a great idea

I thought you hated the EU?

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I thought you hated the EU

Find me ONE post where i have said that....

The only vague reference ive made to the EU was when i sed that we would be replacing handouts from london to brussels.

I have never said nethin derogatory about a united europe in fact quite the opposite. look throoughmy posts.

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As discussed in the 9/11 post, I firmly beleive the EU will be the next super power.

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Find me ONE post where i have said that....

The only vague reference ive made to the EU was when i sed that we would be replacing handouts from london to brussels.

I have never said nethin derogatory about a united europe in fact quite the opposite. look throoughmy posts.

Hey, don't get so hostile, I'm not accusing you of anything. I just said that I thought you were against Europe being a single country. All you had to say was 'no' instead of jumping down my throat.

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As discussed in the 9/11 post, I firmly beleive the EU will be the next super power. 

Not any time soon though. At present it would take all of Europe + Japan (Japan's cool, it should be European) to match US output. However, no Empire lasts forever. Its only a matter of time before the US's crown falls and someone is their to pick it up. And with any luck, it'll be the Europeans..... grin2.gif or also likely, an industrialised China hmm.gif .

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