Voto holandés sobre la UE

Following Sunday's No vote in the referendum in France, the people of the Netherlands are voting on whether to accept or reject the proposed EU constitution. If, as widely predicted, the Dutch also vote No, the chance of the EU adopting the constitution would probably be non-existent.

This report from William Horsley:

In the Netherlands, even ardent supporters of the constitution have acknowledged in advance that a No vote is likely, perhaps an overwhelming one. If so, two founding member nations of the European Community would have rejected the constitution as a new political basis to unite the European continent, and it would be seen as a dead letter.

It's likely then that Britain and perhaps other countries that have not yet ratified it would call off those plans, saying there was no longer any treaty to vote on.

In the short term, EU leaders are to meet for their first face to face talks on the crisis at a planned summit in Brussels in two weeks time. They face the drastic prospect of having to discard plans set out in the constitution for a new, more formal European layer of government, including an embryonic EU diplomatic service and more EU-level powers over key areas like immigration.

The European Union has faced many crises in the past, but none as fundamental as this. The No vote in France has divided the Franco-German partnership which those countries have long claimed as the pillar of the EU project. It also reflects deep French opposition to the EU's ongoing enlargement and economic reforms, which other members states consider urgent and vital.

For weeks now EU institutions have been marking time, waiting for the verdict of two nations at the heart of Europe. The verdict from France already seems to put their legitimacy in doubt. Statesmanship and good luck will be needed to craft a new mission for the EU, and the Union has not been blessed with either in recent times.

William Horsley, BBC, Brussels

ardent supporters
personas que están fervientemente a favor de algo

a dead letter
una ley que no es más reconocida ni observada

call off
cancelar, abolir

face to face
en persona

face
enfrentarse a

to discard
rechazar, abolir

embryonic
que todavía está siendo establecido, en desarrollo

pillar
Aquí se refiere a los principales impulsores

marking time
esperar sin hacer demasiado

has not been blessed with
no ha tenido la suerte de tener