Czechs swing against EU vote

CZECH REPUBLIC: Czech public opinion has swung against the European Union's constitution after it was rejected by voters in …

CZECH REPUBLIC: Czech public opinion has swung against the European Union's constitution after it was rejected by voters in France and the Netherlands, an opinion poll showed yesterday.

The Czech government has yet to decide whether the country, which joined the EU last year, will hold a referendum on the treaty or whether it should be ratified by parliament.

If a referendum is held, only 19 per cent would vote in favour while 29 per cent would reject the treaty, according to the poll. A quarter of those asked said it would be useless to continue ratification after the Dutch and French No votes and the remaining 27 per cent said they did not care.

This is in contrast to opinion polls before the French and Dutch referendums, which showed that the Czechs would vote in favour of a treaty.- (Reuters)