Oostenrijkse kanselier: over 2 jaar wellicht nieuwe referenda in Nederland en Frankrijk (en)

Austrian chancellor Wolfgang Schussel has suggested that the EU constitution could be put to voters in France and the Netherlands once again in two years time.

In an interview with German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Mr Schussel said there must be a reaction from the EU if French and Dutch voters said No to the constitution for a series of reasons.

He suggested that slowing down enlargement may be a way to reassure these voters.

"People fear an over expansion of the EU through the accession of Turkey, Ukraine and further countries", said the chancellor, whose country takes over the EU presidency at the beginning of next year.

He added: "If a more cautious line is adopted here, then we could appear before the French or the Dutch public once again and say 'look here, we have understood and drawn the consequences'".

"Then, perhaps in 2007, if in one or other country there has been political change, then a second attempt [at referendums] can be made".

The chancellor said that, in his opinion, it is not possible to continue without a second try.

He indicated that simply adopting some parts of the 465-article document, such as the voting system, will not work as it would again lead to an intergovernmental conference and the outcome would also have to be ratified.

The chancellor's comments come just over two months after the French, followed three days later by the Dutch, strongly rejected the constitution in their referendums.

The results left the EU reeling and unsure of how to proceed. One by one, countries that had said they would have a referendum, such as Denmark, Ireland and the UK, abandoned their plans.

Meeting at summit two weeks after the referendums EU leaders called for a "period of reflection" on the constitution and what to do next.

However, the reality is that all 25 member states need to ratify the document before it can come into force.

A general feeling is that there cannot be a re-run of the two referendums if the same political leadership is in place - something alluded to by Mr Schussel.

One of the major political changes would be if French president Jacques Chirac is voted out of office in the country's elections in 2007.