London ? Britain shelved a referendum on the European Union constitution Monday, following the charter’s rejection by French and Dutch voters. The development strongly suggests the treaty cannot survive in its current form and removes a major complication for Tony Blair.

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told the House of Commons that Britain reserved “the right to bring back the European Union bill providing for a U.K. referendum should circumstances change.”

“But we see no point in proceeding at this moment,” he said. “These referendum results raise profound questions about the future direction of Europe.”

Across Europe, many people saw the British announcement as a final nail in the coffin of the EU charter.

“Jack Straw now has shut off the respirator,” said Villy Soevndal, the leader of Denmark’s small left-wing Socialist People’s Party. “The charter already was in a coma after the French and Dutch ‘nos.”‘

Some analysts suggested the French and Dutch “no” votes last week strengthened Blair’s voice in the debate about the future shape of Europe.

Blair has long argued for economic reform of the bloc and has resisted the federalist ambitions of German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac, who view a politically strengthened EU as a global counterbalance to the United States.

Simon Bulmer of Manchester University, an expert on Britain’s relationship with the EU, said the Franco-German axis – the traditional engine of closer European integration – has been damaged.

“There is a situation where these two states with their traditional central position on European integration have been weakened,” said Bulmer, adding that last year’s addition of 10 new EU members helped tilt some influence in Britain’s favor. Britain has long been seen as keen to dilute the bloc’s core power base through enlargement.