Spain and Portugal are the first EU member states to announce plans for referendums on the new constitution.
Spain's Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, told parliament in Madrid today that in accordance with his party's election promises he will hold a referendum as soon as possible.
In Lisbon, Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso said the exact date for a referendum there would not be decided until after the summer parliamentary recess.
It could be held in 2005, probably in the early part of the year, but there are other possibilities.
Portugal is also to go to the polls in presidential elections in early 2006 and legislative elections later that year.
Several countries are expected to let their people vote on the
treaty.
