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112.ua: Dutch parliament votes on ending ‘Ukraine-type’ referendums

Published Feb. 23, 2018 at 11:47 am

Members of the Dutch Senate (the First Chamber) ratify a government bill on the ratification of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union on May 30, 2017 in The Hague.Dutch senators backed a hard-won compromise deal May 30 to ratify an amended EU-Ukraine pact, secured from Brussels by premier Mark Rutte after Dutch voters rejected the initial version in an April 2016 referendum. The draft bill was approved by 50 votes to 25 in the upper house of parliament in the Netherlands, the only EU state yet to ratify the pact aimed at nudging Ukraine away from its former Soviet masters in Moscow. / AFP PHOTO / ANP / Bart MAAT / Netherlands OUT

Photo by AFP

The Dutch lower house of the parliament is voting on a bill on February 22, that would make it impossible for citizens to demand a referendum on future EU treaties, as they did with the EU-Ukraine association agreement, the EU Observer reported.

The four coalition parties supporting Mark Rutte’s third government are expected to support the bill, but it will be a narrow vote. If just two of the coalition MPs fail to show up, the repeal bill could be rejected.