Dutch voters reject EU-Ukraine agreement

Voters in the Netherlands have overwhelmingly rejected in a referendum an EU-Ukraine treaty calling for closer economic and political relations in a blow to the European Union. 

Around 61% voted to reject the agreement, already ratified by the rest of the continent, while 38% supported the pact, according to provisional results released by public broadcaster NOS.

The rejection by Dutch voters delivers a fresh blow to the EU which is faced with rising anti-bloc sentiment amid a record influx of refugees, increased terror threats and a fragile economy.

Before the referendum, EU leaders were concerned that a rejection by Dutch voters could stoke Euroskeptic sentiment across the continent.

The vote comes less than three months before British citizens decide in their own referendum whether to leave the EU altogether. 

Geert Wilders, who leads the anti-EU and anti-Islam Freedom Party, said the result was the "beginning of the end for the EU."

Though the referendum was non-binding, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte acknowledged it was politically impossible for his unpopular government to ratify the treaty in its current form.

“If the turnout is above 30% with such a large margin of victory for the no camp, then my sense is that ratification can’t simply go ahead,” the premier said.

Rutte, whose country currently hold the EU’s rotating presidency, said he would consult with parliament and European partners to figure out whether and how they alter the treaty in a way that could satisfy all parties.

The Dutch “No” vote represents a victory for Russia. Back in 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin was accused of pressuring Ukraine’s then-president Viktor Yanukovych into rejecting the agreement in favor of closer ties with Moscow.

The rejection sparked demonstrations that led to Yanukovych’s ouster and the rejoining of the Crimean peninsula with the Russian Federation. A deadly conflict subsequently gripped the region, which has claimed the lives of some 9,000 people.

Reacting to the vote on his Twitter account, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the rejection shows Europe's attitude to Ukraine's political system. 

Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko, however, said his country would continue moving towards the EU despite the Dutch vote.

“Under any circumstances we will continue to implement the association agreement with the European Union including a deep and comprehensive free trade agreement,” he told reporters in Tokyo Thursday.

A spokeswoman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said the referendum is “advisory in nature” and therefore the final decision on ratification is the responsibility of the Dutch government.

“We count on the fact that the decision will correspond to the interest of Ukraine, the Netherlands and Europe,” she said.

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