Britain will need a new vote on the European Union

Singapore

WHEN 50.3 per cent of Danish voters on June 2, 1992 voted No to the Maastricht treaty on economic and monetary union, I was state secretary in the Danish Foreign Affairs Ministry. My task was to advise the government which course to set as a result of the vote, and an agreement with the Europeans was negotiated over five months. Four Danish exemptions were approved at the European Council meeting in December 1992 - under the British European Union (EU) presidency. In a referendum in May 1993, 55.4 per cent voted Yes to the new terms.

The lessons learned during these 12 months could prove useful to the UK, where calls to hold a second referendum on EU membership persist despite the British Parliament's dismissal on Sept 5 of a petition to hold a new poll. It would be hasty to call for a new referendum soon after the June 23 vote, when my fears of a No vote were borne out. But it would be equally hasty to rule it out. In two or three years, circumstances may be so messy that a referendum could be the most democratic response to a number of unpalatable scenarios.