(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-05-11 09:09

Sarkozy supports plans on mandatory referendum on EU accession

PARIS  -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy is in favor of an institutional reform amendment that would oblige France to hold a referendum on the accession of any "non European" country into European Union (EU), according to reliable sources.

The ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) is "particularly keen" on the issue of abolishing of automatic referendum for new accessions to the EU in the draft constitutional reform, UMP secretary General Patrick Devedjian said Friday, noting that some cases would require "a mandatory referendum."

The deletion of this clause appears to be in "contradiction of the commitment of the President of the Republic to consult French voter regarding the possible accession of Turkey," said Devedjian.

"The UMP will propose an amendment to which the president has, in principle, given his agreement. If successful, the new clause would bind us to hold a referendum on any accession request from a country that is not European," according to Devedjian.

In late April, UMP spokesman Frederic Lefebvre had announced that the party intended to introduce an amendment that would only apply to countries whose capitals were not in Europe or which had the vast majority of their territory outside the European continent.

Within the UMP, the issue of ending mandatory referendums on EU accession is one of the biggest sticking points of the draft reform on institutions which is part of President Sarkozy's reform agenda for the country.

Early last week, 30 ruling party lawmakers, who are openly hostile to the abolition of mandatory referendums and the entry of Turkey into the EU, were received by Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace, according to reliable sources.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Francois Fillon, who is currently touring European capitals ahead of France assuming the rotating EU presidency on July 1, has also added his voice to the debate, saying that there was strong opposition to Turkey's accession to the 27-member union.

"There are still too many obstacles standing in the way of a formal accession. A privileged partnership between the EU and this great country of Turkey is a necessary first step," Fillon told reporters in Nicosia, capital of Cyprus.