Britain 'most ignorant' of EU constitution

The European Commission labels voters in the United Kingdom as the most "ignorant" about the European Union's prospective constitution.

In a special report based on an opinion poll of nearly 25,000 EU citizens, the Commission describes British voters as not only the most hostile to the constitution with Britain the only country where opponents of the treaty outnumber supporters but also as among, as it puts it, the most "ignorant".

Just 20 per cent of Britons support the treaty, the survey finds, a figure matched only by Cyprus, where 23 per cent are in favour.

Opposition is highest in the United Kingdom, at 30 per cent making Britain the only country at this stage to have more No voters than Yes.

The Commission describes the finding as a "remarkable exception" to the EU average, whereby 49 per cent of citizens are in favour of the constitution, and 16 per cent against.

The most supportive nations are Italy and Belgium, with more than 70 per cent of their voters in favour of the draft treaty.

Asked: "Have you personally heard about the draft European Constitution?" two-thirds of all Europeans say yes, with 11 per cent saying that, overall, they also know what it contains.

However, the Commission notes, in certain EU countries that are set to hold referendums on the constitution "a large proportion of the population admits its ignorance".

Forty-five per cent of voters in Ireland say they have not heard of the constitution, and 39 per cent in Portugal, it says.

But heading the list is the United Kingdom, where 50 per cent of voters say they have no knowledge of the draft treaty.

If re-elected in a vote expected this year, the government is likely to hold a referendum asking voters whether they approve of the treaty in the spring of 2006.

In its survey the Commission also asked six "true or false" questions, designed to test detailed knowledge of the treaty.

Two were trick questions, asking about policies that are not in the constitution whether the constitution would abolish national citizenship; and whether it would establish a direct European tax.

Four countries are named as scoring poorly: Britain, Ireland, Portugal and Latvia, a new accession state.

In the EU as a whole, the Commission says, 63 per cent know that the constitution does not plan to remove national citizenship.

But less than half of British voters answered correctly. On tax, 45 per cent of Britons wrongly think the constitution creates a direct EU tax, while only 23 per cent know it does not.