三级aa视频在线观看-三级国产-三级国产精品一区二区-三级国产三级在线-三级国产在线

  Home>News Center>World
         
 

Dutch voters may reject EU constitution, following France
(Bloomberg)
Updated: 2005-05-31 15:25

Dutch voters may join France in rejecting the European Union constitution in a June 1 referendum, opinion polls show, underscoring concerns about loss of sovereignty among the oldest members of the 25-nation bloc.

A survey of 16,850 people yesterday found 53.2 percent of Dutch voters will reject the constitution, three days after France voted 55 percent to oppose it. The euro fell after the French referendum, reaching a seven-month low, on concern the vote will hamper integration of the region's economies.

European leaders including German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder urged nations to stand by plans to ratify the treaty even after France's rejection. A veto by the Netherlands, like France an EU founding member, may force them to seek a change of direction, said Lousewies van der Laan, founder and chairwoman of Better Europe, a committee campaigning for a Dutch "yes."

"If this constitution is not the answer, then we need a signal from the Dutch people about which direction we want to go," van der Laan said in a telephone interview from Amsterdam yesterday. "If the vote is 'no', then we have to look for solutions elsewhere."

The constitution, which creates a European president and foreign minister for the first time and gives more power to the European Parliament, must be ratified by all 25 members of the European Union by November 2006 in order to take effect.

Germany, Spain

So far, nine countries, including Germany and Spain, have approved it. Other votes scheduled for this year include Luxembourg, Poland and Portugal. A referendum in Britain, planned for 2006, may now be abandoned after Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday called for a "time for reflection."

The final Dutch opinion poll, by the Amsterdam-based Dutch Center for Political Participation, was conducted before the French referendum. It showed support for the "no" vote had fallen more than two percentage points from 55.4 percent a week ago. The survey was conducted from May 23 to May 29.

Dutch opposition to French and German steps to loosen the EU's budget rules, known as the stability pact, are part of the reason for resistance to the constitution, which is an expression of a broader discontent with European integration, said Jos de Beus, a professor at the University of Amsterdam.

"People feel that everything is going too fast, and it is too vague," he said. "The Dutch wanted a stable euro and a strict stability pact. They feel cheated."

'Uphill Struggle'

Michel van Hulten, a former member of the European Parliament and a coordinator of the "yes" campaign, said that the French vote makes a victory for the constitution in the Netherlands more difficult.

"There is no question but that there will be even more of an uphill struggle," he said in a telephone interview.

The vote on June 1 will be the first referendum in the Netherlands in 200 years. Unlike France, the results here are not binding, though all parties have agreed to abide by the vote, unless the turnout falls below 30 percent.

Ruud Koole, chairman of the Labour Party, an opposition party which is backing the constitution, said the results in France may cause a drop in the turnout in the Netherlands.

"I fear a low turnout because people say that the people have already decided in France," he said in a television interview. "If turnout does go down, I fear for the 'yes' vote."

When the French referendum was first proposed by Chirac in July 2004, polls showed 60 percent of the voters would approve it. Historically, Dutch voters have been supportive of pro-European issues.

European 'Superstate'

The Labour Party's Koole described the 'no' vote in the Netherlands as a reflection of people's fears of being swallowed up by a continually expanding EU. The Christen Unie party, which is backing the "no" campaign, even ran a three-minute television commercial showing a Dutch cottage trembling in an earthquake, as a picture of Queen Beatrix topples off a tabletop.

"People think that there will be a 'superstate' that will smother us," Koole said. "There is also debate about the euro, which in the Netherlands led to significant price increases. Finally, a lot of people feel excluded from European integration, and they want to express a 'no."'

In a statement issued yesterday, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, criticized by "yes" campaigners for mobilizing too late in favor of the constitution, insisted that the Dutch vote will go ahead.

"I hope and expect that the Dutch voters will make their own independent choice," he said.

Van Hulten said there had been plans to invite politicians from other European countries to come to the Netherlands to campaign for the constitution. Given the size of the constitution's defeat in France, those plans have been called off, he said.

"In the present situation, it would unfair for foreign leaders to come in and campaign for a cause that has been already so badly damaged," he said.



 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

China moves to safeguard millions of textile jobs

 

   
 

New Zealand, China look for early FTA pact

 

   
 

Taiwan requests FTA talks with the US

 

   
 

Oil giant pumps in 2008 Olympic Games aid

 

   
 

Poll: Koizumi should end visits to shrine

 

   
 

Opening up of oil market pumps expectations

 

   
  France braces for new prime minister, policy shift
   
  Al-Zarqawi message now says wounds minor
   
  Bush: America will honor fallen soldiers
   
  Poll: Koizumi should end visits to shrine
   
  At least five killed in Karachi mosque attack
   
  Indonesia begins mass polio vaccination
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  Related Stories  
   
France braces for new prime minister, policy shift
   
"No" vote throws France, EU into turmoil
   
Why France rejects EU constitution?
   
French voters reject first EU constitution
  News Talk  
  Are the Republicans exploiting the memory of 9/11?  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 亚洲精品久久久成人 | 高中生福利视频在线观看 | 成年偏黄网站站免费 | 日韩一区二区在线播放 | 亚洲一区日韩二区欧美三区 | 欧洲一级鲁丝片免费 | 色婷婷在线观看视频 | 久久久久青草线蕉亚洲麻豆 | 欧美一级毛片高清视频 | 日韩在线播放视频 | va在线观看 | 免费观看国产精品视频 | 性做久久久久久网站 | 男女一级毛片免费视频看 | 日韩欧美精品中文字幕 | 免费观看色视频 | 老司机日日摸夜夜摸精品影院 | 青青青国产依人精品视频 | 国产成人精品综合网站 | 国产无遮挡裸体免费视频在线观看 | 视频一区视频二区在线观看 | 精品国产欧美另类一区 | 精品国产一区二区三区香蕉沈先生 | 国产久7精品视频 | 国产精品分类视频分类一区 | 国产真实乱人视频在线看 | 一级欧美在线的视频 | 亚洲国产欧美在线观看 | 国产午夜在线观看视频播放 | 国产精品国产三级国产专区5o | 免费看片黄色 | 3344成年站福利在线视频免费 | h版欧美一区二区三区四区 h国产 | 国产拍视频 | 亚洲日本中文字幕在线2022 | 欧美一级做一级爱a做片性 欧美一级做一级做片性十三 | 久久久久青草线蕉亚洲麻豆 | 免费亚洲黄色 | wwxxx日本 | 欧美一区二区在线免费观看 | 日本高清色本免费现在观看 |