The Czech referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was expected to take place in 2006 to decide whether the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

should ratify the proposed Constitution of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

. Following the rejection of the Constitution by voters in

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and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, the Czech government announced that the proposed

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

would not be held. The Czech

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

Christian Democrats __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social ...

and

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

were strongly in favour of European integration, and campaigned in support of the proposed Constitution, but

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Václav Klaus Václav Klaus (; born 19 June 1941) is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second president of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. From July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, he served as the second ...

was an outspoken eurosceptic, and refused to sign the constitutional treaty in October 2004 (most countries, however, did not send their

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

to sign). Opposition Civic Democratic Party opposed the Constitution. The referendum was expected to be legally binding on the government.

Referendum bill

On 9 March 2005, the Czech government approved a bill that would permit referendums to be called on fundamental issues relating to the country's internal and foreign policy, and be called by any of the following: * A petition containing at least half a million signatures of Czech citizens. * Two thirds of the members in either chamber of the bicameral Czech parliament. * The government itself. It is as yet uncertain whether the bill will pass. The opposition Civic Democratic Party has objected to the idea of referendums becoming a usual part of the Czech political system, and has instead motioned its own bill on a one-off referendum on the European Constitution. If both bills fail to gather enough support, then it's quite possible that no referendum will be held and the matter of the ratification will be decided by the Czech parliament instead (where supporters of constitution do not have sufficient number of votes to accept the constitution, as of middle of 2005).

Opinion polling

References

{{Reflist

External links

BBC: Czechs delay constitution vote
28 October 2004
Radio.cz: Czech government approves referendum bill
Cancelled European Constitution referendums Referendum on the European Constitution 2006 referendums 2006 in international relations 2006 in the European Union