THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS - APRIL 6: A Dutch voter casts his ballot at a polling station during the referandum on European Union's treaty with Ukraine, on April 6, 2016, in The Hague, Netherlands.
( Yasin Yağcı - Anadolu Agency )
London, City of
LONDON
Voters in the Netherlands have begun casting their ballots in a referendum on European Union’s trade treaty with Ukraine.
The referendum, which was called after Eurosceptic groups gathered more than 400,000 signatures in a petition of Dutch residents, is being closely watched by British anti-EU groups as a test of voter sentiment ahead of vote on U.K.’s EU membership in June.
The Netherlands is the only country to put the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement to a referendum. Its outcome is not binding on government policy, but Dutch politicians have warned that rejecting it would hand a symbolic victory to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Times quoted Prime Minister Mark Rutte as saying: “I really hope that the Netherlands gives a ‘yes’ vote because it is important that we get more stability to the edge of Europe, especially in these uncertain times.”
An opinion poll by Ipsos found that the “no” campaign had a lead of 37 percent over 30 percent of respondents who endorsed the treaty, but a third of votes are undecided.
A 2015 law that makes it possible to force plebiscites in the Netherlands requires at least 300,000 online signatures, but the government can ignore the subsequent referendum if turnout falls below 30 percent.
The campaign is being closely watched by British Eurosceptics. U.K. Independence Party leader Nigel Farge was among those campaigning for a no vote in the Netherlands Monday.
Farge told the Times: “A resounding ‘no’ would embolden British voters to understand that we are not on our own in thinking something is wrong at the heart of Brussels.”
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