Sarkozy in U-turn over Turkey referendum

Referenda linked to future EU enlargements will no longer be compulsory in France under a draft law amending the Constitution to be adopted in July. The move primarily aims to allow Croatia to join the bloc next year but also clears the way for Turkey’s accession bid, EURACTIV France reports.

A draft law on institutional reform transmitted on 19 March to the State Council, France’s highest legal authority, contains an article deleting all references to referenda to be held each time a new country joins the EU.

The government is set to formally submit the bill for approval on 23 April with the National Assembly due to start its scrutiny work on 20 May, said Roger Karoutchi, State Secretary for relations with Parliament.

The “referendum lock” contained in article 88-5 of the French Constitution will be entirely lifted when both houses of Parliament adopt the law at a Congress meeting on 7 July, in what will seem a symbolic gesture from France just days after it assumes the rotating EU Presidency on 1 July.

The provision was inserted into the French Constitution by former President Jacques Chirac in 2005 in a move aimed at ensuring that skeptical French voters get a say on Turkey’s EU accession bid.

The new president, Nicolas Sarkozy, made no secret of his opposition to Turkey’s EU entry. But he recently sided with Secretary of State for European Affairs Jean-Pierre Jouyet, who argued that the Constitutional provision would also make it more difficult for other countries to join. 

Earlier this month, Commission President José Manuel Barroso presented an “indicative timetable” for concluding EU membership talks with Croatia by November next year, with 2010 the likely entry date (EURACTIV 14/03/08).

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