- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Dutch Referendum Results to Strengthen UK Citizens' Anti-EU Sentiment

© AFP 2023 / Catrinus van der Veen / ANPOfficials count the votes of the Dutch referendum about the association agreement between the EU and Ukraine on April 6, 2016 at a voting office in Schiermonnikoog
Officials count the votes of the Dutch referendum about the association agreement between the EU and Ukraine on April 6, 2016 at a voting office in Schiermonnikoog - Sputnik International
Subscribe
Wolfgang Gehrcke, the deputy chairman of German parliamentary group Die Linke said that the Dutch referendum is a very strong signal for the UK that will hold in June an in/out referendum.

Demonstrators who support the yes vote of an EU referendum and those who support the no vote protest at the Dam Square in Amsterdam, the Netherlands April 3, 2016 - Sputnik International
Dutch Referendum Reflects Opinions on Brussels - Russian Ambassador to EU
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The UK voters desire to leave the European Union will be encouraged after the refusal of the majority of the Dutch citizens to back the ratification of the EU-Ukraine association deal, the deputy chairman of German parliamentary group Die Linke told Sputnik Friday.

“The Dutch referendum is a very strong signal for the UK that will hold in June an in/out referendum,” Wolfgang Gehrcke, who is on a trip to Moscow, said.

On Wednesday, two thirds of the Dutch people voted against the Netherlands government’s decision to ratify the EU-Ukraine association deal signed in 2014, according to preliminary referendum results. The same day, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that the Netherlands could reconsider the ratification of the EU-Ukraine association deal as the majority of the population says "no."

“The Dutch said the result would be taken into account, but the European Commission said it did not matter. So the UK will see Brussels being indifferent to the will of the Dutch people,” Gehrcke said.

Gehrcke said that the referendum means the agreement reached by Brussels and Kiev should be revised and new talks are needed.

“But I think that many European countries are not interested in a new agreement with Ukraine which is in fact bankrupt,” he said. “The EU should rethink its relations with Ukraine, and the Ukrainian government also should think twice about its relations with Europe.”

Demonstrators call for people to vote no in the EU referendum during a protest at Dam Square in Amsterdam, the Netherlands April 3, 2016. - Sputnik International
Dutch Ukraine-EU Referendum Results Put a 'Nexit' on the Horizon
UK nationals are set to vote on June 23 in a referendum on the country's EU membership, after Prime Minister David Cameron and the leaders of the 27 European Union member states reached a deal in February to grant the United Kingdom a special status within the bloc.

The EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, establishing a political and economic association between Kiev and Brussels, was signed in 2014. It commits Kiev to implementing vast reforms in order to meet the bloc’s high economic, political, social, legal and technical criteria. It also grants Ukraine expanded access to the EU single market.

The Netherlands is the only member state yet to ratify the agreement. The Dutch government decided to hold a non-binding referendum after over 400,000 people signed a petition to put the matter to a nationwide vote.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала