Luxembourgers will head to the polls Sunday to vote on the proposed constitution treaty of the 25- member European Union (EU).

The referendum in the Grand Duchy will be the first since EU leaders announced a "period of reflection" on Europe's future direction at their acrimonious summit in the middle of last month.

FROM SAFE RACE TO CLOSE ONE

Though Sunday's popular vote has a consultative nature, the Luxembourg parliament has undertaken to respect the wishes of the electorate.

It is discomforting for the Luxembourg political class, which is almost unanimously in favor of the charter, to see that support for a "yes" keeps slumping in recent months, especially since French and Dutch voters rejected the constitution in referendums a month ago.

In Luxembourg, opinion polls, by law, cannot be conducted beginning four weeks before a vote. The last opinion poll in mid- June showed that public support for a "no" vote has risen to 45 percent, from 24 percent in October, while backing for a "yes" slumped from 72 percent to 55 percent.

If the number of undecided voters were taken into account, it is enough to suggest that Sunday's poll will be a tight race.

"The result will be as we say in sports programs very tight because the 'yes' and the 'no' have reached more or less the same size in public opinion," Juncker told Belgian television last week.

GAINS AND PAINS

At the moment, all the political parties are actively waging campaigns for their respective standpoints.

The "yes" camp is emphasizing the benefits the European integration and EU membership have brought to the country, arguing that voting "no" means voting against Europe.

"For Luxembourg, there is no way around Europe. It is vital to be in the middle of Europe and participate in it", Luxembourg's EU Commissioner in Brussels, Viviane Reding, said.

"In 1952, we were the poorest country, now we are the richest one," Jacques Santer, a former Luxembourg Prime Minister and President of the European Commission, was quoted as saying.

Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker reassured voters that labor laws and low value added tax rates are not at risk.

Nonetheless, those against the treaty are holding the same arguments as most French and Dutch "no" voters.

"We do not want a treaty that dictates its ultra-liberal orientation, with completely free competition, with liberalization and privatizations," said "no" campaign coordinator Anne Marie Speltz.

Some voters also feel blackmailed by Junker's announcement that he will resign if his countrymen vote against the treaty.

KEEP HOPE ALIVE

Despite the blow it has received from both French and Dutch citizens, a Yes to the EU constitution in Luxembourg could yet revive the treaty, Juncker told the press on the eve of the referendum.

"If this country says no, then according to my colleagues in the European Commission, this will clearly mean the treaty will be dead", he said. "But if Luxembourg says yes then it could be the signal that the process is still alive," he added.

Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said he hopes voters will voice in favor of the EU constitution and thereby send a positive signal to the rest of the EU.

"I want to ensure that Luxembourg does not become the constitution's undertaker," Asselborn told reporters last week in Brussels.

"We have noticed that the 'no' has stopped and that undecided voters are leaning more toward a 'yes'", he said.

A total of 12 countries have so far ratified the constitution. Among them, only one passed the constitution by popular vote while all the others through national parliaments.

The treaty has to be ratified by all 25 members for it to come legally into force.

Source: Xinhua