Deens referendum op 27 september (en)

EUOBSERVER / COPENHAGEN - The Danish government has announced that a referendum will be held on the EU Constitution on 27 September.

This will be the seventh EU-related referendum in the country that joined the European Union in 1973.

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Monday (28 February) agreed on the date at a meeting with political parties in the parliament supporting a yes to the Constitution. The decision will allow the Danish people seven months of debate.

Of the previous six EU-related referendums in Denmark, two have ended with a no.

In 1992, the Danes turned down the Maastricht Treaty and in 2000 a majority voted against joining the euro.

According to the latest Eurobarometer survey, published in December 2004, 44 percent of the Danes are supportive of the new European Constitution, while 36 percent are opposed. One in five (20 per cent) is undecided.

Only two political parties in the Danish Parliament are opposed to the Constitution, the right-wing Danish People's Party and the left-wing Red-Green Alliance. Those two parties hold a mere 30 seats of the total 179 in the Danish Parliament, Folketinget.

Two political forces from the European Parliament - the Junemovement and the Peoples Movement against EU - will also add their weight to a "no" vote.