From azcentral.com
Matt Moore
Associated Press
Sept. 15, 2003 12:00 AM
STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Swedes rejected adopting the European common currency in a Sunday referendum overshadowed by the killing of Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, an ardent euro supporter, days earlier.
The vote came as a blow to Europe's currency and to European integration, and it provided a boost for euro opponents in Britain and Denmark, still using their own currencies.
Despite the setback, the second since 2000 in Scandinavia, the European Commission reiterated its faith in the euro and held out hope that Sweden would eventually adopt it.
"We're confident the Swedish government will choose a way forward to keep the euro project alive in Sweden," the commission said in a statement.
European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg said the decision would not change the euro's position or bank policy.
"It will not affect the ongoing cooperation between Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden's central bank) and the European Central Bank," Duisenberg said from Germany.
With all votes counted from the Scandinavian country's 5,967 precincts, 56 percent of the more than 5.4 million ballots cast were against the euro, while 42 percent voted in favor of it. Remaining ballots were blank. More than 7 million Swedes were eligible to vote. No minimum voter turnout was required.
"We have evidently not been able to firmly establish the European idea among the voters," said Alf Svensson, leader of the Christian Democrats and a euro supporter. "People still seem to believe that we live in a Europe with national borders and national currency, but the reality is something else."
The results countered analysts' predictions the stabbing death of Lindh would emotionally sway voters to adopt the currency used by 12 of the 15 European Union members. They also ran contrary to polls in the final days.
Prime Minister Goeran Persson said late Sunday that opinion polls were read too optimistically. "We could have had a referendum at a better time. Europe is in a deep recession."
Wednesday's attack on Lindh, which police said did not appear politically motivated, came during the final stages of campaigning on whether Sweden should join the European Monetary Union.
Lindh was stabbed repeatedly by an unknown assailant at a Stockholm department store. She died early Thursday after surgery.
Posted by Muddy at September 15, 2003 07:39 AM | TrackBack