Spaniards voted over-whelmingly in favour of a constitution for the European Union yesterday but the low turnout was likely to send worrying signals to nine other member states that will be submitting the EU charter to referendums over the next 18 months.

Three out of four voters - nearly 11m Spaniards - backed the new EU charter. Official results showed 77 per cent voted Yes, against 17 per cent of voters who rejected the treaty.