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French socialists back eu treaty Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000085&sid=a1TbQFdJf9WM&refer=europehttp://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000085&sid=a1TbQFdJf9WM&refer=europe
French Opposition Socialists Back the EU Treaty (Update1)
Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- France's Socialist opposition voted to back the European Union constitution, lending support to party leader Francois Hollande and President Jacques Chirac.
Over 55 percent of the nearly 95,000 voters backed Hollande's endorsement of the treaty, designed to make the bloc function better after its expansion to the East, a spokeswoman said. The internal vote was prompted by opposition to the accord from Laurent Fabius, the Socialists' number two official.
The non-binding vote has split the Socialists, which defeated Chirac's governing party in regional and European elections this year, ahead of 2007 presidential elections. Chirac, 72, hasn't said whether he will seek a third term. He signed the constitution in June and promised a popular referendum on it next year.
``It's a political coup for Jacques Chirac,'' said Dominique Reynie, a professor at the Institute for Political Studies in Paris. ``It gives him a political advantage that the Socialists have been fighting each other.''
Hollande, 50, is scheduled to hold a a press conference at 11:30 a.m. in Paris.
EU Policies
At stake is how the EU spends its 100 billion-euro ($115 million) annual budget, sets economic policy for the 12 nations sharing the euro, regulates industries from car making to telecommunications and attempts to forge common policies on security and defense in the post-Cold War world.
``This vote is a very important step forward for ratification of the constitution both in France and in Europe,'' said Martin Schulz, leader of the 200 Socialist members of the European Parliament, in an e-mailed statement.
Referendums on the treaty are set next year in the U.K., Spain, Ireland, Denmark, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Latvia, as well as Poland, where half of all voters have to turn out for a referendum to be valid.
While Hollande and the pro-EU treaty camp are supported by ex-government ministers Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Martine Aubry, Fabius, 58, has attracted the backing of politicians such as Pervenche Beres, a Socialist member of the European Parliament who was a member of the convention that drew up the draft constitution.
Fabius Opposition
As prime minister between 1984 and 1986, Fabius signed up to the Single European Act, which shaped EU voting procedures for the bloc's then 12 members and eliminated trade barriers between them.
Fabius now says the treaty doesn't emphasize social concerns enough. In his 2004 book ``A Certain Idea of Europe,'' he said the word ``market'' is mentioned 78 times, ``competition'' 27 times, and ``social progress'' three times.
``We don't want to say `no' to Europe -- we have too high an idea of Europe to be happy today with this text,'' said Gerard Bapt, a law maker for the Haute-Garonne region and a Fabius ally, in a Bloomberg television debate.
In response, Jean-Christoph Cambadelis, a Socialist lawmaker from Paris who supports the treaty, said France can't hope to agree to a better compromise.
``The treaty is a compromise between the social democrats and the liberals'' of Europe, he said in a separate Bloomberg debate. ``We should judge it on its European merits and not for French political reasons.''
Last Updated: December 2, 2004 02:36 EST
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