Danes to hold referendum

Denmark will hold a referendum on the European Union's Amsterdam Treaty on 28 May next year - after a decision on which nations will be in the first wave of Europe's economic and monetary union.

Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen announced the referendum at the opening of parliament's autumn session and urged Euro-sceptic Danes to accept the revisions to the Maastricht Treaty contained in the Amsterdam package.

Danish voters remain deeply suspicious. A poll in September showed 44 per cent in favour against 34 per cent immediately after the Amsterdam summit.