BRUSSELS – European Union leaders reached a compromise with the Netherlands on Dec. 15 that should allow the bloc to enact an agreement on closer ties with Ukraine, regarded as a landmark deal to counter Russian influence.
Dutch Prime Minister Rutte said on Dec. 15 he now has the necessary guarantees to push the deal through the Dutch Parliament as of Dec. 16 and to remove the objections that led to a referendum defeat of the EU-Ukraine agreement in the spring. The Netherlands was the lone holdout in the 28-nation bloc in ratifying the agreement, which needs unanimity.
