...and Netherlands most likely will too on Wednesday.

So what's next? I have that "sinking feeling" for Europe's immediate future and think this is a huge setback for the Continent's proper postition in the rapidly changing 21st Century global stage.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=8635749

My dear Nimrod,

Chin up, old man.

The worst thing that will happen is that they will have to amend the document that was rejected.

BTW, what is "the Continent's proper position in the rapidly changing 21st Century global stage"?

Can the UK be next?

The Continent's proper position? One that: takes on Asia in economic matters, China namely, head-to-head; has more time to align with trusted allies, like the US, and devote undivided attention to global terrorism threats/local security; can devote more time internally to jump-start local economies, reduce unemployment and deal more efficiently with social issues. Those and more.

The worst thing is being stuck in a quagmire while the rest of the world whooshes by.

>The worst thing is being stuck in a quagmire while the rest of the world whooshes by. <

I'll drink to that.

xyz:

Britain wasn't due to have the referendum till late 2006. All the polls have consistently shown overwhelming rejection.

Now Tony B Liar's hubris knows no bounds. But he's finally had to junk his commitment to a referendum on the Euro as it's become increasingly clear he'd be humiliated. If he loses a Constitution referendum he'll have to resign.

I'd bet there won't be a referendum in Britain, and that the Great Liar will use his EU presidency to force the other EU governments to junk this constitution and find some alternative way of going forward.

With its neighbours queuing to join it for the past 50 years (and I've not noticed too many Canadians or Mexicans wanting their country to unite politically with their neighbour), the EU has got on perfectly well without a constitution. The 500 pages of diluted Marxism currently being pedalled do nothing to curtail the Eurozone's determination to destroy its economy, or to help the non-Euro EU members continue their economic growth.

Sooner or later the EU's rulers will realise this contitution was a pointless exercise and it can be quietly buried at sea.

As a UK resident, I wholeheartedly say "NON" to this, well done the French!

Enlarge upon that please, jocasta, as that will assist this discourse.

flanner...can you just stop the name calling? I get so sick of that stuff. Maybe Blair believes differently than you and others, but that doesn't necessarily make him a liar. If you are referring to the intelligence concerning WMD that he used to make his decision to go to war, perhaps the intel was bad...that is different from him lying. Can't we have a discussion without sinking to namecalling...?

BTW as this is a travel board..

Listening to the NBC nightly news this evening, it was speculated that it is conceivable the rejection of the constitution could lead to a weaker euro against the US dollar...good news for travellers perhaps.

>...it is conceivable the rejection of the constitution could lead to a weaker euro against the US dollar...<

Unless the euro rises.

&lt;&lt;<i>...the rejection of the constitution could lead to a weaker euro against the US dollar...good news for travellers...</i>

Call me psychic but I just knew that would pop up as a selling point for some Americans. Truth is, financial experts say that within 10 years the euro currency could dissolve without forward movement on the constitution issue. I would much rather see a sustained, strong Europe (maybe costing me more) than a downward-spiralling/fragmented Europe (maybe making my holidays less costly).

The EU being on par with the US, in all major aspects, seems to me the best position for them at this juncture in time. I'm not saying the US is perfect, far from it, but that their model is the best to follow. It's tried and true, for 200+ years, is it not?

The euro has been heading in the right direction (for my liking) for several weeks now. It is only about 4 cents higher now than it was last summer, if I recall correctly. It will be interesting to see what happens during this next business week. Markets do not like uncertainty, and this looks like an uncertain future to me!!

&gt;Markets do not like uncertainty, and this looks like an uncertain future to me!!&lt;

Buy Molvanian currency. It is immune from whatever happens in the rest of the world.

Will do, Ira...thank you for the financial advice...and don't you have some prime swampland I could buy as well?

3 words about Mr Bliar,wren,Downing Street Memo

&quot;...good news for travellers perhaps.&quot;

Could we amend that to &quot;good news for AMERICAN travellers&quot;? It may be a novel thought, but Americans aren't the only travellers in the world. I even found small roving bands of European tourists in the US. And for people like myself planning to visit Europe, the relationship between the US$ and Euro is supremely irrelevant.

The idea is that this defeat means that the Euro will fall in value against other world currencies. I'm doubtful of the validity of this idea, but I don't see the idea on its own as US-centric.

As you say, a club that has people desperate to join it, will survive very well. It's back to the drawing board.
I strongly suspect that the French were not actually voting about the constitution. It has over 400 clauses for goodness sake. How many will have read it? Next time, perhaps they could condense it a bit and explain it a bit better for the average punter.
Personally, I'm not fond of referenda. We elect members of Parliament to deal with treaties, for goodness sake,
I get the impresion that many voted to give Chirac a bloody nose and others were worried about the rapid expansion of the Union. Turkey seems to be a greta worry.
Ironically, the French were worried that the Constitution was too Anglo-Saxon and the British are worried that it's too French.

Well, so much for all those who insisted that corrupt officials would ensure a yes result, no matter how the French people actually voted!