 The draft constitution will be discussed by EU leaders next month |
Tony Blair has dismissed calls for a referendum on the draft new European constitution and said he relishes the debate about Britain's place in Europe. Speaking to reporters as he flew to the Gulf, the prime minister insisted Britain was winning the arguments on the big issues in the constitution.
No public vote was needed on the proposals because they would not bring a fundamental change to the British constitution, he said.
EU CONSTITUTION What do people living in the UK think it means? BBC News Online found out. 
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The Conservatives continue to call for a referendum, saying there is almost no chance of the current proposals being changed to allay their fears. They say the constitution is a "step change" towards a federal Europe with the UK losing sovereignty over many policy areas.
But Mr Blair said: "We don't govern in this country by referendum but we do exceptionally have referendums.
"Should we recommend joining the single currency we will have a referendum on that because it is a fundamental change to the British constitution.
"If there was a fundamental change [proposed] there would be a case for having a referendum.
"But there are no proposals coming out of the convention at the moment that amount to such a fundamental change."
Britain's world place
Mr Blair argued the UK would keep the veto powers it needed to remain a sovereign state.
Calling for a debate on the facts, he said: "This is not a blueprint for a federal union - it absolutely anchors Europe in the nation state, which is as it should be."
He continued: "I take on this campaign with relish. I think it's very important argument about Britain and its place in the world."
DRAFT PROPOSALS Powerful EU president EU foreign minister Common foreign policy Legally-binding charter of rights EU to have "legal personality" |
Mr Blair said Britain always won European arguments when it "put its shoulder to the wheel". He added: "We should decide as a country whether we want to go forward in the European Union or not."
Earlier, two of the government's most senior ministers defended the draft constitution.
In an article for the Times newspaper, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw accused the Conservatives of wanting to roll back existing EU powers and make the UK a second-class member of the EU.
Meanwhile, Chancellor Gordon Brown insisted Britain was winning the arguments with its EU partners on, for instance, harmonised tax rates - ruled out because of British opposition.
Tory warning
The Tories insist they do not want to leave the EU but their representative on the convention, David Heathcoat-Amory, described the negotiating process as a "dialogue of death".
The MP said there was virtually no chance of altering the draft constitution to meet Tory concerns.
 Straw is accusing the Tories of reliving Maastricht arguments |
Instead, he is asking convention chairman Valery Giscard d'Estaing to let him and other Eurosceptics to produce their own draft. The draft constitution proposes an elected EU president and foreign minister, and backs a common foreign policy.
There are also plans to replace in some policy areas the system where all EU countries must agree on a decision, in favour of majority voting.
'No rights change'
The government promised on Tuesday to block some items, including plans to make an existing charter of worker's rights legally binding.
It also came out against plans for a "European Public Prosecutor" for serious crimes.
EUROPEAN CONVENTION Chaired by Valery Giscard d'Estaing Holding year-long discussions Aims to simplify treaties Trying to decide balance of power between Brussels and governments |
Wales Secretary Peter Hain prompted a row on Tuesday when he said that if people did not like the new constitution, they could vote against the government at next year's European elections. He later dismissed as "absurd" suggestions that he was suggesting the European polls would become a de facto referendum on the plans.
The proposals are aimed at setting out a vision of how the EU will be run after 10 new countries join next year.
European Commission President Romano Prodi on Wednesday described the draft constitution as a "step backwards", saying it "lacks vision and ambition".
The draft will be debated by the convention this week and then considered by EU leaders at a summit in Greece in June.
A final agreement could take up to a year.
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