Brussels, 10/11/2004 (Agence Europe) - The Luxembourg government has set Sunday 10 July 2005 as the date for the ratification of the European constitution in a referendum, according to an announcement made by the foreign affairs Minster Jean Assemborn on Wednesday at the end of a meeting with parties represented by the Luxembourg parliament. the referendum, the first in Luxembourg since 1937, will therefore take place 10 days after the end of the European Union presidency, which Luxembourg is exercising in the first half of next year. All the parties represented at the Luxembourg parliament support ratification of the constitution. According to a recent survey, 59% of Luxembourg citizens will vote yet, while around 17% will oppose it. 24% are undecided.
Meanwhile, Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt underlined that he wanted Belgium to ratify the constitution by May 2005 at the latest. This deadline is tenable, says Verhofstadt. In Belgium, the ratification process is complicated by the fact that the constitution needs approval by the two chambers of the federal parliament but also that of the three regions (Brussels, Flanders, Wallonia), as well as the assemblies of the French and German speaking communities. The Belgian constitution does not include provision for referendums.