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| REFERENDUMS
HELD ON EUROPEAN MATTERS: none |
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CONSTITUTIONAL
CONDITIONS - Constitution
of Spain
Binding referendum provided if constitutional amendment, a total
revision or an amendment of fundamental principles of the constitution
effected. Otherwise binding referendum requires implementation by
constitutional amendment. Consultative referendum expressly provided.
Exclusion of international affairs only for initiatives, not for
referendums. |
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PROCEDURE
The
government initiated the process on 18 May 1998 by introducing the
ratification bill into the Congreso de los Dipodatos (lower house).
The Congreso approved the bill on 1 October (284 in favor, 25 opposed,
2 abstentions). The Senado (upper house) gave its assent on 24 November
with a nearly unanimous vote (217 in favor, 1 against). The law
went into effect on 16 December 1999 (Ley Organica 9/1998, Boletin
Oficial del Estado num. 301). According to Art. 92 of the constitution
“political decisions of special importance may be submitted
for a consultative referendum”. Due to the positive attitude
of the two major parties towards European integration, the option
of holding a referendum was not considered.
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RELEVANT
DOCUMENTS AND MATERIAL
Thurner, P.;
Stoiber, M. (2001), Comparing
Ratification Processes within EU Member States: The Identification
of Real Veto Players, Mannheim Centre for European Social Research.
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