As polls closed in the Netherlands on April 6 in a referendum on Ukraine’s association agreement with the European Union, it was clear most Dutch voters had said “no” to the landmark treaty.
But with the turnout hovering at around 29 percent, according to an exit
poll by polling company Ipsos, it wasn’t clear whether the turnout would break
the crucial 30 percent barrier to make the vote valid. The exit poll had a
margin of error of plus or minus three percent.
If the barrier is broken, the 64 percent “no” vote, as recorded in the exit poll, would force the
Dutch parliament to reconsider its decision to ratify the EU-Ukraine treaty.
The Netherlands is the only member state of the 28-country union that is yet to
fully ratify the agreement, which includes a free-trade regime.
Ahead of the referendum, it was
feared by EU officials and the majority of the public in Ukraine that a “no”
vote would throw the treaty into doubt, with the Dutch government possibly
having to negotiate an opt-out clause or its own separate treaty with Ukraine.
That would delay the full implementation of the association agreement, which
includes a free-trade regime, for at least months, and likely years.
The referendum was called by Euroskeptic activists, who have freely
admitted to media that the issue was not really about Ukraine’s relationship
with the EU, but about promoting a debate among the Dutch public about the way
the union is run.
The referendum was also hailed by Euroskeptic politicians from outside
the Netherlands: Speaking to Dutch “no” vote activists in the Netherlands on
April 5, Nigel Farage of UKIP, the Euroskeptic UK Independence Party, described
the referendum as the “hors d’ovvres,” before the “main course” of the UK’s own
referendum on EU membership on June 23.
Final official results of the April 6 referendum are not due to be
released until April 12.
Kyiv Post
editor Euan MacDonald can be reached at [email protected]
