Spain Gives Overwhelming ‘Yes’ to EU Constitution

As Bush arrives in Europe, he’s presented with a clear message: the EU is becoming a united block, strengthening its geopolitical power. A fact which we can no longer ignore.

MADRID, Spain (CNN) — Spanish voters gave overwhelming support for the European Union constitution Sunday, voting for ratification by a more than 4-1 margin in the first national vote on the proposed charter.

Interior Ministry figures showed 10.1 million voters — 76.4 percent of the 13.3 million who cast ballots — supported ratifying the constitution.

Another 2.3 million people, or 17.4 percent, voted against the constitution, and another 6 percent cast blank ballots.

“Spain was the first country to vote in a referendum,” Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said Sunday. “It has met the test with notable success. We have opened the road to ratification.”

The constitution is designed to streamline and speed up decision-making processes in the EU, whose 25 member states include a total population of 450 million. The pact is expected to take effect on Nov. 1, 2006.

EU leaders signed the document in October.

Both of Spain’s major parties — the ruling Socialists and the conservative opposition Popular Party — back the constitution.

Some 106,000 police were on alert for potential violence when voting began at 9 a.m. Sunday (0800 GMT). King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia were among the first to cast ballots.

Spanish entrepreneur Jesus Banegas said he would vote “yes” because having Spain in the European Union was good for business.

“The obvious advantage of belonging to the EU is belonging to a bigger market where you can increase your business, get economies of scale, and reduce costs,” he said, adding that it also forced Spaniards to innovate after centuries of being on the fringe of Europe.

The government has said it would consider a 33 percent turnout reasonable.

The referendum is legally nonbinding, with Spain’s parliament having the final say.

But Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has said he would respect the outcome of the vote, suggesting he would not ask parliament to approve the constitution if the “no” vote won.

Zapatero has gone all out to secure a “yes” vote, comparing Sunday’s ballot to a 1978 referendum in which Spaniards approved their own democratic constitution following the death of Gen. Francisco Franco in 1975.

“Now we have another historic opportunity and must not squander it,” Zapatero told a recent rally in Madrid. “We cannot miss the opportunity to be protagonists and set the course for all Europeans with a massive ‘yes.’

“Spain on Sunday decides its future in Europe. And that’s decided by each and every vote.”

The constitution, signed by heads of EU governments last October in Rome, would draw the 25 member states closer politically and give the EU as a body greater powers.

Spain is the first to hold a national vote, and France will soon follow.

With so much at stake, French President Jacques Chirac joined Zapatero for a “yes” rally in Barcelona.

German Chancellor Gerard Schroeder also has been to Spain to offer political support to Zapatero.

Britain, Poland and the Netherlands are among some 10 countries also expected to put the proposed constitution to a popular vote — which is why the EU governments watched the Spanish referendum so closely.

Some politicians thought Spaniards would gladly vote for the constitution. After all, Spain has received $100 billion in aid since joining the EU, which helped build most of the country’s new roads and created hundreds of thousands of jobs.

But after a brief campaign ahead of the referendum, a survey by state pollster CIS showed around 90 percent of Spaniards had little knowledge of the 350-page constitution, Reuters reported.

Opponents include some smaller left-wing groups and regional parties. Others, like Spanish lawyer Ignacio Arsuaga, started a Web site against the constitution on moral grounds.

“For example the right of life of the unborn is not recognized at all, contrary to Spanish law,” said Arsuaga of Votano.org.

The constitution can’t take effect unless all 25 EU nations ratify it – a process that will take 18 months. Most members will have parliamentary votes — a less risky method, perhaps, than Spain’s popular referendum.

CNN Madrid Bureau Chief Al Goodman contributed to this report.

Original article, here on CNN.