THE chances of reviving the European constitution receded yesterday as EU countries started retreating, amid a rising tide of euroscepticism, from promises to hold referendums.

Gerhard Schröder, the German Chancellor, and President Chirac of France will hold emergency talks today on ways to save the constitution after French and Dutch “no” votes. But Ireland, Portugal, Denmark and the Czech Republic all showed signs of backtracking.

Leaks from an emergency meeting of the European Commission last week showed that several commissioners, including Peter Mandelson, the British Commissioner for Trade, argued that it would be very damaging to the EU to plough on with ratification.

Estonia’s Parliament postponed ratification, though it claimed that the delay was simply to allow more time to analyse the document. Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, will announce on Monday that the UK will suspend its referendum preparations.

The only country determined to press ahead is Luxembourg, the most instinctively pro-EU country, whose Prime Minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, is the current president of the EU. He has repeatedly insisted that all countries must continue with ratification.

M Juncker said yesterday that he would resign if he did not win the referendum on July 10. He is drawing up proposals to save the constitution which he will put before a summit of EU leaders on June 16. However, Britain appears to be winning increasing support for suspending ratification.

Diogo Freitas do Amaral, the Portuguese Foreign Minister, said: “We can’t be blind to reality and we can’t pretend that nothing happened in France and the Netherlands, that nothing could happen with the British Government. We can’t act like an ostrich.”

He said that the referendums could be suspended or the “whole process could be terminated” at the summit, adding: “What may happen is that the leaders of the 25 member states could conclude that it would be a useless and even painful exercise if it appeared that successive referendums would produce more ‘no’ results.”

Dermot Ahern, the Irish Foreign Minister, retreated from his Government’s earlier assurances. He told The Irish Times: “We will wait and see what comes out of the (EU summit) in June” and that “we have to take stock as time moves on.”

The second-biggest party in the Czech Government coalition has also called for a suspension of the referendum, with ministers saying that they are sympathetic to delays.

Three new polls in Denmark show that support for the constitution has collapsed. One showed a 17 per cent swing against. The Danish Government, which had been planning a referendum on September 27, now believes it will be impossible to win, and is sympathetic to putting ratification on ice.

Denmark has long been lukewarm about European integration, rejecting the euro in a referendum in 2000.

Peter Mandelson gave warning of “creeping paralysis” if the EU pressed on with ratification and suggested that the EU should “push the pause button”.

The constitution has been ratified in ten countries and 13 have yet to have their say.

Times Recommends

• Britain’s Somalis — the enemy within?
• FBI tracked Jackson around the world
• Have-a-go hero regains sight in stem cell trial