European Union leaders claimed yesterday that the EU constitution remains alive despite Sunday's No vote in France but admitted that referendums elsewhere are now less likely to succeed.
Opinion polls in the Netherlands showed the No side broadening its lead in advance of tomorrow's referendum on the constitution and some Yes campaigners acknowledged that the vote cannot now be won.
The euro fell to its lowest level against the dollar since last October amid investors' fears that the French vote - almost 55 per cent against the constitution - could slow down the integration of Europe's economies.
European commission president José Manuel Barroso said the French vote was "a serious problem" for Europe but added that there was no appetite among EU leaders to renegotiate the treaty. Mr Barroso admitted that the French result could encourage voters in other countries to reject the constitution. "There is a risk of contagion," he said.
French president Jacques Chirac spoke to EU leaders and reassured them of France's commitment to European integration. The effect of the No vote on Mr Chirac's government will continue today as he is expected to dismiss prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. Luxembourg's prime minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, whose country holds the EU presidency, is conducting individual talks in Luxembourg this week with all EU leaders, including the Taoiseach on Thursday.
Mr Juncker wants all other countries to continue to ratify the constitution despite the French vote and has promised to hold a referendum in Luxembourg in July, as planned.
Britain's Tony Blair called for "a period of reflection" after this week's referendums and said the debate on the constitution did not reflect citizens' concerns.
"The problem is there is another debate going on in Europe among the people of Europe which is to do with jobs, economic security, public services and welfare reform in an era of globalisation, illegal immigration, organised crime, issues to do, in other words, with the economy and security that seem to them the issues they want to see leadership from Europe on," he said. Mr Blair, who takes over the EU presidency in July, said EU leaders would discuss the implications of the French and Dutch referendums when they meet in Brussels on June 16th.
Dutch prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende urged his citizens to support the constitution despite the French vote. "Each country has its own responsibility. That means that Dutch voters have to weigh it up for themselves. The Netherlands now plays an important role. We must be conscious of our own interest and say Yes," he said.
Dutch Europe minister Atzo Nicolai said he hoped for a Yes vote tomorrow but ruled out a second referendum in the Netherlands. "If the Netherlands says No too, we have a big problem in Europe," he said.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana insisted that the EU would remain an important actor on the world stage despite France's rejection of the constitution, which would have made Mr Solana the EU's foreign minister. "The EU has been an actor before even we started to talk about a constitution. We'll continue to work 24 hours a day with the same energy that we've done before. The worst thing that could happen is that as a consequence of this the people of the EU and the leaders enter into some kind of paralysis," he said.
Britain's EU commissioner Peter Mandelson suggested France could hold another referendum in the hope of securing a yes result.
The Taoiseach echoed this view, harking back to Ireland's and Denmark's second votes on EU treaties after earlier rejections: "The French people have to consider that. That has happened in the other two precedents over the last 15 years. It was left to the member state that rejected it to deal with the issue," he said.