You're reading: Poroshenko, Rutte coordinate position on EU-Ukraine Association Agreement ratification

Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko has had a phone conversation with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte during which they coordinated positions on the ratification of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU in the context of the referendum in the Netherlands.

The prime minister of the Netherlands once again assured that his country supported immediate provision of the visa-free regime for Ukrainians and continuation of sanctions against Russia, the Ukrainian president’s press service reported.

Poroshenko and Rutte agreed to conduct a separate meeting in Brussels in October, the press service said.

Some 61 percent of Dutch citizens, who came to the polling stations, voted against the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU at a referendum held in the Netherlands on April 6. The turnout was 32 percent with the quorum being 30 percent. Legally the outcome of the referendum is not binding for the government.

On Sept. 23, Rutte said the country’s government is unlikely to ratify the association agreement between the EU and Ukraine, taking into account the results of the April referendum, in which the Dutch opposed this agreement. “I think we won’t ratify [the agreement],” he said, speaking in the parliament.

Due to the fact that, in accordance with the EU standards, before entering into force the agreement must be ratified by the government of each EU member state, Rutte expressed hope Ukraine will be able to continue negotiations with the other 27 EU countries.

Observers note that the Netherlands has the choice: either to ratify the association agreement, regardless of the plebiscite, or agree with the other EU countries that the agreement or some of its provisions will not apply to the Netherlands.