Jack Straw has given an assurance that the EU will not press ahead with the Nice Treaty until the Irish people say "yes" in a second referendum.

In a Telegraph article, ahead of a Commons debate on the treaty, the foreign secretary contradicts earlier statements by the European president, Romano Prodi, in which he said enlargement could proceed in spite of an Irish "no to Nice " vote in June.

"We respect this 'No' vote. If Ireland does not ratify, the treaty will not come into force," writes Straw.

Speaking on BBC radio on Wednesday, Straw spelt out that Nice required all 15 member states to sign up and clarified "inaccurate" remarks by Prodi.

"Treaties like this require 15 member states, all member states to ratify them, so if any one fails to ratify it, it doesn't come into force. Theoretically you could have a different treaty in order to ensure enlargement. But there isn't a different treaty available. and Romano Prodi accepted that what he said originally wasn't exactly accurate, you have to have the Nice Treaty," he said.

Taking his much-vaunted "practical" European approach, Straw recalls the Danish setback over Maastricht in June 1992. A "no" vote referendum result that rocked the EU to its roots.

But with time, a year later in 1993, Denmark rejoined the EU fold after a second referendum "yes" and with key opt-out concessions given by Brussels.

"As with the Danes' original 'No' to Maastricht, we hope that, in time, an affirmative vote in Ireland may be possible," he states.

Straw believes that Nice ratification should meanwhile proceed without Ireland and dismisses Tory calls for renegotiation of the treaty.

"The Irish government has said that it needs to deal with particular issues with its electorate. It has also said that we should all proceed with our own ratification of Nice. There is no question of a wholesale renegotiation," he argues.

He also hinted that the Gothenburg summit earlier in June had agreed to offer the Irish concessions in order to smooth the way for a "yes" vote.

"Meanwhile what the European council has agreed ... is that there should be discussions with Ireland about whether there are things at the margin which could assist the Irish people in coming to a yes vote," he told the BBC.

But the foreign secretary acknowledged the dangers of a democratic deficit or malaise at the heart of the EU.

A disconnection starkly spelt out in a Tuesday's EU "Eurobarometer", finding that as Belgium takes over the union presidency, 73 per of Belgians are "not interested in taking part in the discussions" on Europe's future.

"We all need to learn lessons from Ireland's experience. The institutions of the EU cannot afford to leave the people behind. We must acknowledge and address people's anxieties and more convincingly persuade doubters that Britain is better off in Europe," he writes.

Straw also sets out some of the benefits of EU enlargement and the "accession" of up to 12 new member states, including Cyprus and Malta.

He argues that the changes would generate an extra £1.75 billion extra GDP for the UK every year, and harking back to his last job of home secretary, highlighted the crime fighting benefits of closer EU cooperation.

But the Tories claim that by pressing ahead with the treaty ratification the government is ignoring public opinion. "We think it is quite wrong for the Government to be pushing this through when the Irish public in their referendum have just rejected this treaty," said shadow foreign secretary, Francis Maude.