Danish voters on Tuesday strongly ratified the Treaty on European Union that they had narrowly rejected in June, keeping alive the prospects for greater economic and political unity in Europe.
The Danes' clear endorsement of the treaty - 56.8 percent to 43.2 percent - was a boost to the spirits of the European Community, which had been badly shaken over the past year by mounting opposition to closer union. The Community's efforts have been strained by a deepening economic recession and the war in Bosnia.Britain and Germany have to ratify the treaty before it can go into effect, but a second Danish "no" would have effectively torn up the blueprint for turning the 12-nation Community into a major economic and political force.
Meanwhile, Danish police, who seldom draw their pistols, shot and wounded eight demonstrators in Copenhagen early Wednesday in one of the most violent battles with leftist anarchists in decades.
Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen defended the police, saying it was a matter of "life and death."
Twenty-four officers were reported injured.
One demonstrator, carried away by riot squad officers on a shield as he screamed in pain, had been shot in the stomach. Local radio reported other protesters were shot in the jaw, arms and legs.
Over the past nine months, confidence that economic unity can be achieved has waned because of the disruptions caused by currency devaluations by five members. Furthermore, only Luxembourg meets the agreed criteria - on inflation, government debts, the national budget and interest rates - for a unified currency.
The goal of a powerful single voice in world affairs, through common foreign and defense policies, has also been thrown into doubt by Europe's failure to mediate a settlement in Bosnia-Herze-govina.
Coincidentally, public opposition to a federal Europe has been growing in Germany and France, which only narrowly ratified the treaty in a referendum last September. Publication of a Community-sponsored poll showing weakening support was reportedly postponed until after the Danish vote.
"I am a happy man tonight," Rasmussen said after the Danish vote was announced. "We have taken a decision of historic importance. We have taken a step toward bringing Europe closer to ordinary citizens, to make it more open, even more democratic."
Foreign Minister Niels Helveg Petersen said Denmark's surprise rejection of the treaty last year fed doubts across the region. "I believe that today's vote will reverse that tendency and bring a swing back to greater optimism about the European cause," he said.
One sign of strong interest was that 85.9 percent of the 3.9 million Danish voters cast ballots, up from 83.1 percent last June.
Tuesday's election illustrated the problems that have plagued the treaty since December 1991, when Community leaders met in Maastricht, the Netherlands, and agreed to establish common foreign and defense policies and to create a single regional currency.
Danes approved a version of the treaty that will not require a single currency, a joint defense policy, the concept of European citizenship and common justice and immigration policies.