The latest polls showed the French and Dutch "no" votes on the European Union's constitutional treaty decreased the support for the treaty in European countries and triggered debates on EU enlargement on Friday.

According to a survey conducted by Greens for business daily Boersen in Denmark, where a referendum on the treaty is scheduled for Sept. 27, 39.5 percent of Danes would vote "no" for the treaty, compared with 30.8 percent who would vote "yes." Just last month, Greens found that naysayers represented only 26 percent of the voters, while 34.3 percent of the population expected to vote "yes " on the treaty.

Morten Messerschmidt, a spokesman for the Danish People's Party that opposes the treaty, said Friday that "I think the government should follow the Danish People's Party proposal about not holding a referendum. It seems pointless, since there isn't anything to vote on, now that France and Holland have said no."

In the Czech Republic, according to a poll conducted by the Factum Invenio public opinion institute, more than two-fifths ( almost 44 percent) of respondents who said they would take part in the referendum would support the document, fewer compared to the findings of other polls which were carried in the country before the referendums in France and the Netherlands.

The result showed that 33.7 percent of the Czechs are against the ratification of the EU constitution, 31.5 percent support and 34.8 percent have no clear view on the question.

Portuguese Foreign Minister Diogo Freitas do Amaral said Thursday that his country will cancel October's referendum on the EU constitution if EU leaders decide to stop the ratification process.

The Irish government said in a statement after the Dutch referendum that it was continuing to prepare to ratify the EU constitution by November 2006.

However, a spokesman for the foreign ministry told the press Friday that Ireland was closely watching the situation and would take into account any decision made at the upcoming EU summit in mid-June.

Meanwhile, Jean-Claude Junker, current rotating EU president and prime minister of Luxembourg, said Friday that he will resign if the EU constitution is rejected in a referendum on July 10 in his country.

The latest surveys show 46 percent of voters in Luxembourg support the constitution and 32 percent plan to vote "no," with 22 percent undecided.

The setbacks of the EU constitution ratification process also triggered debates on the enlargement of the bloc, as quite a lot of Europeans are worried that the enlargement might result in massive influx of cheap labor.

As a response, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Friday said that it was "totally wrong" to suggest that EU enlargement should stop after the EU constitution was rejected by French and Dutch voters.

The EU must fulfill its commitment of admitting Romania and Bulgaria on Jan. 1, 2007, provided both countries meet accession criteria, Schroeder told reporters after meeting with visiting Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu.

Romania and Bulgaria singed accession treaties on EU membership in April.

In Turkey, Sermet Atacanli, chief advisor of foreign affairs to Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, said at a press briefing on Friday that "Turkey is determined to maintain its progress in integration with the EU. There is not any deviation from Turkey's integration with the EU."

"We rightfully expect the EU and the EU member countries not to assume prejudiced attitudes against Turkey with respect to their commitments," he added.

The failure of the EU constitution in France and the Netherlands also led to a higher opposition to Norwegian membership of the EU.

An opinion poll conducted right after the Dutch rejected the constitution showed that the opposition to Norway's entry to the EU has increased from 42 percent to 59 percent.

Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik said Friday that it would take longer time for Norway to join the EU after the constitutional crisis.

"First the EU constitution must be in place, in order that we will know what kind of a union we will be debating," he said.

The Norwegians have rejected twice the EU membership so far.

Source: Xinhua