NETHERLANDS: SOCIALISTS CELEBRATE OVERWHELMING 'NO' VOTE IN EUROPEAN UNION'S CONSTITUTION REFERENDUM
Record ID:
328770
NETHERLANDS: SOCIALISTS CELEBRATE OVERWHELMING 'NO' VOTE IN EUROPEAN UNION'S CONSTITUTION REFERENDUM
- Title: NETHERLANDS: SOCIALISTS CELEBRATE OVERWHELMING 'NO' VOTE IN EUROPEAN UNION'S CONSTITUTION REFERENDUM
- Date: 3rd June 2005
- Summary: (BN15)AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS (JUNE 1, 2005) (REUTERS) 1. INTERIOR SOCIALIST PARTY HEADQUARTERS 2. COUNTDOWN TO RESULT OF EXIT POLLS 3. SOCIALIST PARTY MEMBERS CHEERING AND CELEBRATING NO VOTE 0.39 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) SOCIALIST PARTY MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT KRISTA VAN VELVEN SAYING: "Well first of all, this is the first time in fifty years that the Dutch people have been asked anytyhing about the European Union, so they've been forced to take all the treaties, including the introduction of the Euro, which people are quite angry about. This is the first time they have been asked to say anything." 0.58 5. MV/SCU PEOPLE TALKING AND CELEBRATING THE OVERWHELMING 'NO' VOTE 1.12 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) SOCIALIST PARTY MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT KRISTA VAN VELVEN SAYING: "Only two per cent of the people voted against this constitution because of the Euro and only four per cent because of Turkey. The rest of the people were just really upset about how rapidly the european thing has been taking over the Netherlans, how much of our power has been shifted over to Brussels and really thinking with this constitution we have less power than ever about our own legislation about what's happening in our country." 1.36 7. MV TRIO ON STAGE SINGING SONG ABOUT THE 'NO' CAMPAIGN 8. SCREEN SHOWING TELEVISED REACTION OF DUTCH PRIME MINISTER JAN PETER BALKENENDE 9. PEOPLE CHEERING AND REACTING TO HIS STATEMENT 10. PEOPLE LISTENING TO BALKENENDE 11. MAN PLAYING GUITAR AND SINGING 2.37 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 18th June 2005 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
- Country: Netherlands
- Reuters ID: LVABG0NB7XBIM3B368N9CKJ502ZS
- Story Text: Dutch Socialists celebrate overwhelming 'No' vote in
EU constitution referendum.
The Netherlands emphatically rejected the European
Union constitution in a referendum on Wednesday,
potentially killing off a treaty already spurned by France
and plunging the bloc deeper into crisis.
With 66.8 percent of votes counted, Dutch news agency
ANP said 62.2 percent had voted "No" to 37.8 percent in
favour with turnout at 63.9 percent, well above the 39
percent that voted in last year's European Parliament
election.
"No" campaigners from the Socialist Party at a
celebration in Amsterdam greeted the outcome with wild
cheers, punching the air in jubilation after a campaign
which united disparate fringe parties from left and right
in hostility to the charter.
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende was quick to
concede defeat for a "Yes" campaign led by his unpopular
centre-right government but urged other countries in the
bloc of 25 member states to press ahead with ratification.
"The voters have given a clear signal that cannot be
misunderstood," he said. "We must do everything we can to
involve citizens in the Europe of the future."
The Dutch vote is not legally binding, but Balkenende
said the government would respect the result.
The resounding "No", even stronger than nearly 55
percent against the treaty in France on Sunday, is the
latest sign of Dutch anger with the political elite since
the 2002 murder of anti-immigration populist Pim Fortuyn.
Unease was further stoked by the killing last year of a
filmmaker critical of Islam.
Socialist Party member of parliament, Krista Van Velven
said: "Well first of all, this is the first time in fifty
years that the Dutch people have been asked anytyhing about
the European Union, so they've been forced to take all the
treaties, including the introduction of the Euro, which
people are quite angry about. This is the first time they
have been asked to say anything."
"Only two per cent of the people voted against this
constitution because of the Euro and only four per cent
because of Turkey. The rest of the people were just really
upset about how rapidly the european thing has been taking
over the Netherlans, how much of our power has been shifted
over to Brussels and really thinking with this constitution
we have less power than ever about our own legislation
about what's happening in our country."
Leading "No" campaigner Geert Wilders, seen as an heir
to Fortuyn, called on Balkenende to resign and call new
elections.
Elections are not due until 2007 and Balkenende has
insisted he would not quit if voters rejected the charter.
"If you realise that two-thirds of parliament supported
the constitution and two out of three people in the land
are against, it means a lot is wrong in the country,"
Wilders said.
Hostility to the euro, fears of a European superstate,
concerns about immigration, security and a loss of Dutch
influence in Brussels as well as disenchantment with the
government and the sluggish economy fuelled the "No" vote.
The euro EUR=> fell to its lowest level for eight
months after the Dutch exit poll. The euro has steadily
fallen against the dollar since March when polls turned
negative on the treaty, which needs the approval of all
members to go into force.
The rejection of the charter by the Netherlands, like
France one of the six countries that founded the bloc in
the 1950s, could deliver a fatal blow to the treaty
designed to make the EU run better following its
enlargement from 15 to 25 states.
Latvia's parliament is expected to approve the treaty
with a big majority on Thursday, meaning 10 members
representing almost half the EU's 454 million citizens will
have approved it.
Nevertheless, Latvia's former Integration Minister Nils
Muiznieks said after the Dutch voted: "This is a huge
wakeup call for the whole European project. It looks like
everybody involved in drawing up the EU constitution
miscalculated."
The result also casts doubt on the EU's hopes for a
stronger foreign policy and its plans to expand further to
the western Balkans, Turkey and Ukraine, and raises
questions about its appetite for economic reform amid
mounting global competition.
"I can say that the leaders in Brussels are in disarray
at the moment," said Mendeltje van Keulen, political
analyst at the Clingendael Institute of international
relations near The Hague.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso
admitted the Dutch rejection heralded difficult times ahead
for the EU while Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude
Juncker, who holds the EU presidency, also said
ratification had to continue.
EU leaders are due to discuss how to proceed at a
summit on June 16-17. British Prime Minister Tony Blair
hinted after the French vote that the Dutch result could
help determine whether he calls off a referendum next year
in his Eurosceptic country.
British Foreign Minister Jack Straw said the rejection
by the French and the Dutch raised "profound questions for
all of us about the future direction of Europe". He did not
say whether Britain still planned to hold a referendum.
Opposition has been driven by a range of issues
including opposition to Turkey's bid to join the bloc,
concerns Brussels might undermine liberal Dutch policies on
gay marriage and abortion and anger over high Dutch
payments to the EU budget.
If EU leaders do halt ratification, analysts warn the
bloc could sink into an extended period of introspection
with repeat referendums unlikely given the strength of
French and Dutch opposition and renegotiation of the
charter also difficult.
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