In Referendum, Dutch Voters Reject EU-Ukraine Association Agreement

Dutch citizens voted last week against a political and economic Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine in a result that has been billed by some analysts as a potential sign of growing difficulties in the 28-nation European Union. To date, the Association Agreement has already been ratified by 27 of the 28 EU member states. The trade pact within it, known as the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), was already ratified by both the Ukrainian and European Parliaments in 2014, and has been in application since 1 January of this year. (See Bridges Weekly, 14 January 2016 ) The other parts of the Association Agreement have been provisionally applied since late 2014. The pact itself has long been controversial, given that divisions within Ukraine over whether to back the trade deal had sparked the 2013 protests that ultimately led to the country’s geopolitical crisis. The trade agreement has repeatedly drawn the ire of Russia, which has cited concerns over its compatibility with Moscow’s own trade accords with Kiev. Internal EU friction? In last week’s referendum, around 61 percent of Dutch voters opted to reject the pact, though analysts disagree over the motives behind the choice. However, many...