Frankrijk neemt maatregelen om van verplichte uitbreidingsreferenda af te komen (en)
The French government on Wednesday (23 April) approved plans for constitutional reform that would scrap the obligation for France to hold a referendum on any further enlargement of the EU after Croatia.
The clause making it compulsory to submit all future EU enlargements to a referendum in France was introduced in 2005 by the then-president Jacques Chirac.
"We believe this safeguard doesn't really make sense. It sets a general rule when what we need is a case-by-case approach, in particular for Turkey," government spokesman Luc Chatel said following the approval of the bill by the cabinet members, according to French news channel LCI.
The 2005 referendum clause was seen as particularly targeted at Turkey and a bid to reassure public opinion and increase the chances of a yes vote in the upcoming referendum on the EU constitutional treaty.
However, it would also have affected all western Balkan countries - apart from Croatia - which are hoping to join the EU in the near future.
Under the proposal adopted by the ministers yesterday, the decision on whether or not to approve a country's accession to the EU can be taken either by referendum, or by the French Congress - a body comprising the country's National Assembly and the Senate - which would have to approve it by a three-fifths majority.
The French president will be the one who decides which method of ratification to use.
According to French EU affairs minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet, the proposed modification will solve the "question of credibility" of French President Nicolas Sarkozy on the European stage.
"How do you want to negotiate, if once the negotiation is over, you say ... 'I have negotiated with you for two years, but I cannot do anything [now], the [final] decision is not up to me, I will hand it over to a referendum'?" Mr Jouyet told LCI.
The reform adopted yesterday also represents the most important overhaul of the French institutions and political system in the country's modern history.
Additionally, the reform limits the number of consecutive presidential terms to two, gives new rights to citizens and introduces the ability for the president to appear before parliament.
The bill has now to go to the parliament's lower house for discussion, which is expected to start on 20 May. In June, senators will discuss it.
Final approval must be given by both houses gathered in a "Congress", most probably on 7 July, where a three-fifths majority will be needed for the bill to pass.