European leaders were pushing ahead with plans for a new treaty that would reshape the European Union's institutions despite opinion polls showing that a vast majority of people in the main member states believe the treaty should be put to national votes. The treaty is expected to be approved during a two-day summit, which starts on Thursday in Portugal. The treaty is the would-be successor to the proposed EU constitution that was scrapped after it was rejected by voters in two European countries in 2005.The new treaty would change voting procedures, increase the role of the European parliament and include a charter of fundamental rights.
According to a poll conducted by the British newspaper The Financial Times, 70 percent of those questioned in Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain think the treaty decision should go to a vote. Another poll, in the right-wing Daily Telegraph of London, showed that 69 percent of British voters support a referendum.
In spite of the opposition, European leaders have vowed to push the treaty through, with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown telling parliament on Wednesday that he did not intend to put it to a national vote, insisting the treaty would not lead to a fundamental change in the way Britain is governed.
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