21 September 2016, 13:18 GMT
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Dutch government is not likely to ratify the EU-Ukraine association agreement after local residents voted against the deal at the April consultative referendum in the country, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Thursday.
"I think that eventually we would not ratify [the agreement]," Rutte said speaking at the parliament, as quoted by the BBC broadcaster.
In 2014, the European Union signed an agreement with Ukraine to deepen political association and economic integration. Ukraine had to implement a series of political and economic reforms to gain free-trade access to the EU market.
In April, the Netherlands held a referendum in which 61 percent of Dutch voters rejected the ratification of the deal. Currently, the Netherlands is the only EU state, which has not yet ratified the agreement.
