Dutch parliament will vote on the Ukraine issue

According to the results of the referendum on April 6th, where the majority said "no" to the Association with Ukraine, the dutch lawmakers should put an end to this matter.

Processual norms

The final decision belongs to the exclusive position of the Netherlands Parliament. Both houses of parliament are representated by 16 parties. Most of them belong to the Conservatives (the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy) and nationalists (Freedom Party). A significant portion of seats are owned by the Social Democrats (Labour Party) and left-wing populists (Socialist Party).

The Netherlands have the right to block any decision the EU makes under the Lisbon Treaty, adopted at the EU summit in 2007.

The referendum was organized by Dutch political eurosceptics from the Party of Freedom and representatives of the Socialist Party. The organizers managed to gather the required 300,000 signatures, which, according to the Law of the Netherlands and the EU, immediately stops the implementation of the Association, including the visa-free regime for Ukrainian tourists. 61.1% voted "No" and 38.1% voted "Yes".

What to expect

If the majority votes against the Association with Ukraine, there will be a number of consequences, including the blocking of the visa-free regime with Ukraine, a ban on labor migration, and serious limitations in the sphere of trade and services.

Furthermore, it means another victory for the Eurosceptics, not only in the Netherlands, but also in the EU.

If the European Commission attempts to challenge the results of the referendum, it will play into the hands of the Eurosceptics and will highlight the crisis in the legal system of the European Union.

Related links
Ukraine, NATO sign ‘road map’ on military, technical cooperation
Netherlands to hold a referendum on the Ukrainian question
The Netherlands will change the agreement on Ukraine's association with the EU
The Netherlands voted against Ukraine
Europe has no chance of becoming stable because of Ukraine
Ukraine
Association with EU
Referendum
Parliament
The Netherlands