Weeks before the U.K. decides whether to leave the European Union, the Netherlands will hold a referendum that could deliver a blow to the bloc. On Wednesday, the Netherlands will vote to support or reject the EU’s association agreement with Ukraine, a pact that deepens economic and political ties with the former Soviet republic and is already ratified by the EU’s 27 other member states. Although the referendum is nonbinding, EU officials fear that a rejection by Dutch voters could send ripples through the continent and represent a victory for Russia, which has long tried to scuttle the agreement.
The pact, provisionally applied by Brussels since mid-2014, removes export tariffs between Ukraine and the EU and has provided a boost to the fragile Ukrainian economy at a time when trade with Russia has plummeted. It was at the heart of Ukraine’s political crisis in 2014, prompting violent clashes and the ouster of former President Viktor Yanukovych.
“If the Dutch vote no, Europe will have a problem,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in a speech in The Hague last month. “That problem is destabilization.”
Full Article: Dutch Vote on EU-Ukraine Deal Could Send Ripples Through Europe – WSJ.
