The Head of the Dutch government has spoken out against referendums on international agreements, Correpondent.net reports.
The referendum in the Netherlands on Association between the European Union and Ukraine ended “disastrously”, Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte said during the conference of EU countries parliamentarians in the Hague.
“I am totally against plebiscites and absolutely and totally against the plebiscites on international agreements, because there is no sense in it, as it was demonstrated by the referendum in the Netherlands”, he said.
The referendum on ratification of agreement on Association between the EU and Ukraine took place in the Netherlands on April 6. More than 60% of participants of the plebiscite spoke out against ratification, while the attendance made up 32.2%.
The Netherlandish Public Initiative Geen Peil, known for its populist rhetoric and skeptical attitude to EU, became the initiator.
Rutte intends to introduce amendments to the Agreement on Association.
The such-like referendum took place for the first time in the country, its results do not have legal effect. Nevertheless, the coalition, governing in the Netherlands, stated that within such conditions it cannot ratify the agreement. Prime Minister Rutte intends to introduce amendments to the Agreement on Association.
The Agreement between EU and Ukraine on the Association has already partially came into force. While 27 other countries of the European Union ratified this document, the Netherlands just ratified it.
