Juncker 'will quit' if EU rejected
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• Minister calls for ditch euro vote
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LUXEMBOURG -- In a sign of growing frustration over a voter backlash to a proposed European Union constitution, Luxembourg's prime minister has threatened to resign if his country rejects the charter in a referendum next month.
Jean-Claude Juncker, whose nation currently holds the presidency of the 25-member bloc, said Friday it would be impossible "to defend Luxembourg's interests in Europe" if the constitution is defeated.
Luxembourg, with a population of about 400,000, has long been an ardent supporter of European integration. However, recent polls show the July 10 vote will be close.
The new EU charter must be approved by all 25 EU members -- either by referendum or parliament -- to become effective in October 2006.
So far, 10 nations have approved it, but France and the Netherlands said "No" in referendums this past week, calling the constitution's future into question.
Juncker's comments echoed those of German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder -- whom he met Thursday -- that the charter's ratification process must run its course. (Full story)
"Ratification must continue. We must decide what to do at the end of that process," Schroeder told reporters.
"Every form of overreaction at this stage is wrong."
Meanwhile, Latvian lawmakers overwhelmingly approved the constitution Thursday. (Full story)
Also Thursday, French President Jacques Chirac -- in a bid to win back the confidence after the stinging EU rebuke -- unveiled a slimmed-down government to be led by new Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin.
Foreign minister Michel Barnier became another casualty of France's referendum vote on Sunday. He is being replaced by former health minister Philippe Douste-Blazy, a novice in international affairs. (Full story)
Britain, which takes over the rotating EU presidency in July, is expected to shelve its own referendum plans.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw will make the announcement Monday in Parliament, according to CNN's European Political Editor Robin Oakley.
The UK move is expected to that EU leaders will scrap the constitution summit on June 16 and 17, Oakley said.
He added that the negative votes in the Netherlands and France were largely the result of poor economies, and concerns about immigration, EU expansion and the loss of national identity.
Unemployment in the Netherlands has risen from 3.3 percent to 6.7 percent over the last three years, he added.
