Meerderheid in Tsjechië en Denemarken vóór EU-grondwet (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - While the opponents of the new EU constitution lead the polls in France and the Netherlands, the majority of Danes and Czechs are currently in favour of the treaty, according to recent surveys.

The Gallup poll published on Sunday (22 May) showed 45 per cent of the Danes have already decided to go for a yes in the upcoming referendum on the EU Constitution on 27 September in Denmark, while 11 per cent said they were most likely to vote in favour of the charter.

On the other hand, 25 per cent said they would definitely vote against and 7 per cent said they were most likely to vote no, in a survey conducted among 3,000 people.

Support for the constitution appeared strongest among richer (68 per cent), and best educated Danes (54 per cent), as opposed to the less educated (31 percent) and the poorer citizens (38 per cent).

Some analysts suggest that although support for the constitution is slowly falling in Denmark, it still remains strong as the document has never been viewed as controversial as in some other EU countries.

Catharina Sorensen, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, argues "the Danes had strongly supported the enlargement and they see the treaty as more or less in line with their views on what it should be like. They think it is not as federalist as some would have wanted it to be".

"As previously with the referendums on the euro, people seem more critical after the date of the vote has been announced and the campaign started, and it can yet turn in every direction as the poll draws closer", Ms Sorensen told the EUobserver.

Czech euroscepticism: a myth?

Czech polls also point to a stable majority supporting the EU constitution.

According to a survey by the Center for Public Opinion, published last week (15 May), 51 per cent of Czechs would vote yes, 25 per cent would reject the treaty and 23 per cent were still undecided.

The poll also showed a rising support for the referendum on the issue, while Czech political leaders have still not approved the manner in which the treaty should be ratified in the country - despite a general agreement to hold a popular vote over the issue.

Vera Rihackova from Europeum, a Prague-based institute for EU affairs, argues the most recent poll is in line with the previous ones which had showed overall support among the Czechs for the constitution.

"It is also clear that the people do not know a lot about the actual content of the document, and they back it because they generally favour the EU membership", she said.

"However, the idea shared across Europe that the Czechs are staunch eurosceptics is rather a myth, caused by the most prominent Czech opponent to the treaty - President Vaclav Klaus", she said.

Ms Rihackova added that favourable attitudes towards the treaty are also well represented among the supporters of the main opposition ODS party, despite its own criticism of the charter.

"Especially its local members view the positive side of the regional policy and do not share the eurosceptical views of the party's leadership. And this could eventually mean that the party could soften its position throughout the campaign", she said.