Ukraine-European Trade Agreement Continues to Haunt Europe
In a political move that shook Europe, Dutch voters largely rejected the ratification of a trade agreement that would have served to further integrate Ukraine into the economic sphere of the European Union (EU). The Ukraine-European Association Agreement, which had to be ratified by all 28 EU member countries in order to pass, would have increased trade between Ukraine and the EU by opening markets and removing tariffs on goods. This is not the first time the Ukraine-European Association Agreement has sparked international controversy. In 2013, former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych brought the agreement to headlines when he refused to sign it in favor of a Russian loan bailout, a sign that many interpreted as a rejection of the EU in favor of closer Russian ties.
The popular Dutch rejection of the agreement was an eerie echo of the events in Ukraine. On April 6, 32 percent of Dutch voters showed up to voice their opinions on the referendum, above the needed threshold of thirty percent to make its results binding. Sixty-one percent voted against ratification, to the surprise of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who had been campaigning for a ‘Yes’ vote. Rutte announced that due to the widespread opposition, he can no longer proceed automatically with the ratification.
Reasons for the overwhelming rejection are varied. For many Dutch voters, the referendum was less about Ukraine and more about providing Eurosceptics a forum through which to take a stand against what they perceive as an increasing dominance from Brussels. In a statement to Russia Today, Dutch Socialist Party MP Tiny Kox proclaimed that there are “too many powers in Europe at the moment who intervene in our internal matters of other countries. We should pay more respect to the national sovereignty and in this case, the sovereignty of the Dutch citizens to decide.”
Others note the fact that the referendum scored many ‘Yes’ votes across Amsterdam and university cities like Leiden and Utrecht indicates that the tension could be another manifestation of the generation gap between younger and older voters over the future of the EU, similar to the current situation in the UK. Still others, according to a survey carried out by the Guardian, are quick to point out that the voting threshold of thirty percent was barely met, implying that many people who might have voted ‘Yes’ simply did not show up.
The European Commission brushed aside the referendum results, stating that the referendum could have no effect on the agreement; the referendum had already been signed, unanimously adopted by all the EU heads of state, and set in action two years ago (albeit without official democratic approval). Likewise, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin also took the results lightly, responding that, “nothing has changed,” and that “European integration of Ukraine cannot be stopped.”
Integration with Europe has been the favored platform of the Poroshenko regime, and the Ukraine-Europe Association Agreement was hailed as the first step towards achieving closer ties. According to Reuters, the European Commission has now promised to propose extending visa-free travel to Ukrainians, despite the clear opposition demonstrated by the Netherlands towards further integration.