Netherlands rejects EU-Ukraine partnership
Dutch referendum seen as a wider test of anti-European sentiment in run-up to UK vote in June
Voters in the Netherlands have rejected in a referendum an EU partnership deal with Ukraine.
At 32.2 per cent, the turnout was low but above the 30 per cent threshold for the vote to be valid. Just 38.1 per cent of voters were in favour of a deal with Ukraine, while 61.1 per cent rejected it.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte said his government may have to reconsider the deal, which has been ratified by all the other 27 member states of the European Union.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Although the non-binding vote is technically a referendum on removing trade barriers with Ukraine, it is being seen as a wider test of anti-EU sentiment.
Even the referendum's Eurosceptic organisers admitted it was not essentially about Ukraine but instead was a "handy hook to push a broader anti-EU agenda and 'give citizens more say in Brussels'", says The Guardian.
Despite the low turnout, the outcome could have big repercussions for Europe and the UK.
Whatever voters' motivations, a clear vote against the treaty in the run-up to Britain's EU referendum in June is likely to "escalate into a domestic or even a Europe-wide political crisis", says Reuters.
The EU's decision to push on with the Ukraine treaty regardless of the vote, which has angered some of those opposed to what they see as the arrogance of the Brussels bureaucratic machine, could be "damaging for the EU project by highlighting internal problems ahead of the British vote", says Newsweek.
"If politicians ignore the Dutch 'No' then it will be an even stronger signal than what the British have already received that there is no way to correct the European political class and that they should vote to leave," said No campaigner Thierry Baudet, one of the architects of the Dutch referendum.
Speaking in Amsterdam ahead of the vote, Ukip leader Nigel Farage said that a vote against the treaty would "embolden" those campaigning in the UK to leave the EU and "send a big message to the British electorate that we are not alone in thinking something has fundamentally gone wrong in the direction of the European Union".
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said his country will nevertheless "continue" its movement "towards the EU".
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Is the next cold war a drone-swarm race between US and China?
Today's Big Question Both global superpowers are building up their capacity for surging robotic warfare. What happens next is anyone's guess.
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: April 17, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku hard: April 17, 2024
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudan on brink of collapse after a year of war
Speed Read 18 million people face famine as the country continues its bloody downward spiral
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How powerful is Iran?
Today's big question Islamic republic is facing domestic dissent and 'economic peril' but has a vast military, dangerous allies and a nuclear threat
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Modern presidents exercise power undreamed of by the Founding Fathers'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
US, Israel brace for Iran retaliatory strikes
Speed Read An Iranian attack on Israel is believed to be imminent
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'So much for the triumph over inflation'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Outgunned Ukraine could fall, US general warns
Speed Read Without more US aid, Ukraine is at risk of losing the war
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How green onions could swing South Korea's election
The Explainer Country's president has fallen foul of the oldest trick in the campaign book, not knowing the price of groceries
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Ukraine's battle to save Kharkiv from Putin's drones
The Explainer Country's second-largest city has been under almost daily attacks since February amid claims Russia wants to make it uninhabitable
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published