Dutch Vote on Key EU-Kiev Pact as Europe Watches
THE HAGUE (AFP) - Dutch voters went to the polls Wednesday on whether to back a key EU pact with Ukraine in a referendum triggered by grassroots eurosceptic groups and seen as a yardstick on ties with Brussels.
A slow trickle of some of the 12.5 million eligible voters drifted into polling stations through the day in the non-binding vote being closely watched by Moscow and the West.
A 30-percent turnout is needed for the ballot to be valid, and by about halfway through the day interest appeared lackluster.
Dutch media said only around 7.0 percent of people had voted in the major cities, and turnout was even as low as 6.5 percent in the capital, Amsterdam.
A Dutch "No” to the two-year-old treaty with Kiev could pose a headache for the European Union (EU), and the outcome is also seen as an important litmus test for Britain’s referendum on continued European Union membership in June.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who cast his ballot at a Hague primary school, urged citizens to vote in favor of the treaty.
"We have to help Ukraine build up a judicial state and its democracy. To support its minorities like Jews and its gay community. Therefore I call on the entire Netherlands: go vote and vote in favor,” Rutte said.
"Europe needs more stability at its edges.”
Opinion polls on the eve of the vote over the EU’s so-called Association Agreement with Ukraine gave the "No” vote a slight edge, but many voters were undecided, saying they remained puzzled about what it was all about.
It remains unclear what the results could mean for the Netherlands -- which currently holds the rotating EU presidency -- and the government has been non-committal, saying only it would study the results once polls close at 9:00 pm (1900 GMT).
The "No” camp has highlighted concerns about corruption in Ukraine, and continuing separatist unrest in the east, among reasons to refuse closer ties with Kiev.
According to one Ipsos poll, some 37 percent said they would vote against. Around 33 percent were in favour and the rest were undecided.
A slow trickle of some of the 12.5 million eligible voters drifted into polling stations through the day in the non-binding vote being closely watched by Moscow and the West.
A 30-percent turnout is needed for the ballot to be valid, and by about halfway through the day interest appeared lackluster.
Dutch media said only around 7.0 percent of people had voted in the major cities, and turnout was even as low as 6.5 percent in the capital, Amsterdam.
A Dutch "No” to the two-year-old treaty with Kiev could pose a headache for the European Union (EU), and the outcome is also seen as an important litmus test for Britain’s referendum on continued European Union membership in June.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who cast his ballot at a Hague primary school, urged citizens to vote in favor of the treaty.
"We have to help Ukraine build up a judicial state and its democracy. To support its minorities like Jews and its gay community. Therefore I call on the entire Netherlands: go vote and vote in favor,” Rutte said.
"Europe needs more stability at its edges.”
Opinion polls on the eve of the vote over the EU’s so-called Association Agreement with Ukraine gave the "No” vote a slight edge, but many voters were undecided, saying they remained puzzled about what it was all about.
It remains unclear what the results could mean for the Netherlands -- which currently holds the rotating EU presidency -- and the government has been non-committal, saying only it would study the results once polls close at 9:00 pm (1900 GMT).
The "No” camp has highlighted concerns about corruption in Ukraine, and continuing separatist unrest in the east, among reasons to refuse closer ties with Kiev.
According to one Ipsos poll, some 37 percent said they would vote against. Around 33 percent were in favour and the rest were undecided.