EC Will Press for European Union Despite Danish Vote

OSLO — Foreign ministers of the 12 European Community nations met in emergency session here Thursday and decided to press forward with plans for political and economic integration in spite of Denmark’s rejection of the treaty designed to make it all possible.

How they might manage to get around the Danish public’s Tuesday vote against the Treaty of Maastricht was far from clear.

After the meeting, European Commission President Jacques Delors made public a statement by the foreign ministers saying no attempt would be made to renegotiate the treaty, which presumably must be ratified by all 12 nations to become effective.

The statement said the ratification process would continue as planned. Two countries, Ireland on June 18 and France in the fall, will hold national referendums on the document, while the others will submit it for ratification to their parliaments.

The Oslo statement said the foreign ministers still fervently wish to see the union treaty enter into force, and they agreed that “the door for Denmark’s participation in the union remains open.”

“What we need now is time to find a solution,” said Britain’s Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd. Danish Foreign Minister Uffe Elleman-Jensen agreed, grateful “to be given the time.”

Danish officials said they will try to find some way to win Danish approval of the treaty’s proposals.

“We’re leaving the Danes to find a way out,” a Netherlands diplomat said. “The train is going full speed. If a passenger falls out, we’ll say, ‘We’re sorry, but we’ve got to keep going.’

“They and we will come up with something,” the diplomat added. “I’m not exactly sure what it will be, but something will be worked out.”

Many of the ministers here privately expressed fears that the Danish vote might generate a popular revolt against the treaty, which was worked out and signed after months of negotiations by national political leaders.

Denmark’s rejection of the forward-looking document, which calls for close monetary, political and economic ties under the leadership of the European Commission in Brussels, depressed stock markets Wednesday and Thursday.