Dutch reject EU constitution
Second country in four days to vote against proposed charter
 | |
| |
| RELATED |
• Dutch PM: Vote on treaty not me
• Barroso: 'No' vote failure for EU
|
| EU CONSTITUTION | • Permanent EU president to replace six-month rotating presidencies
• EU foreign minister to conduct common foreign policy
• Qualified majority voting in most areas with vetoes limited
• Commission to be reduced to 15 with 10 non-voting associates
• Policy areas covered by European Parliament up from 34 to 70
• Legally binding Charter of Fundamental Rights
|
|
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (CNN) -- The Netherlands has become the second country to reject a proposed constitution for the European Union, three days after the French turned the proposal down, leaving the EU in disarray over what steps to take next.
A provisional final result posted by Dutch news agency ANP shows a comprehensive 61.6 percent of voters were opposed to the charter, while only 38.4 percent approved.
A final result will be known on June 6 after postal votes are counted.
The constitution must be approved by all 25 EU members -- either by referendum or parliament -- to become effective in October 2006.
The EU plans to hold a summit in mid-June where the balloting is expected to be the central issue.
Shortly after polls closed, a disappointed Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende conceded defeat for the referendum he supported.
"The Dutch voters have a clear and uncomplimentary solution, and we will have to respect the voters' choice," he told reporters. "No means no, and this is the choice of the people."
At EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso urged member governments not to make any hasty judgments about the ratification process and wait for the bloc's mid-June summit to assess the constitution's situation.
"We have a serious problem, but we must continue our work," Barroso said, according to The Associated Press.
So far, nine countries have ratified the constitution: Austria, Hungary, Italy, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Slovenia by votes of their parliaments; and Spain by a referendum.
Supporters in the Netherlands made their final appeal to voters Tuesday, saying the constitution would streamline decision-making in the union, and create a single foreign minister to give Europe more sway in international affairs. The Netherlands was one of the EU's founding members.
But many Dutch remained unswayed.
Critics feared the Netherlands, with just 16.4 million people, would be engulfed by a superstate headquartered in Brussels and dominated by Germany, France and Britain.
Political analyst Maurice de Hond said some Dutch were still angry that the euro became Europe's currency, even though they voted against it.
"So, they will now vote for what they wanted to vote five years ago."
Voter turnout for the referendum was a high 62.8 percent compared with just 39 percent of Dutch who voted in last year's European parliamentary poll.
In addition, analysts said the murder almost seven months ago of filmmaker Theo Van Gogh and the earlier killing of populist politician Pim Fortuyn prompted the Dutch to become more conservative.
The negative votes in the Netherlands and France were largely the result of poor economies, and concerns about immigration, EU expansion and the loss of national identity, said CNN European Political Editor Robin Oakley.
Unemployment in the Netherlands has risen from 3.3 percent to 6.7 percent over the last three years, he added.
The Dutch, he said, also had some leftover resentment that the guilder was undervalued when the Dutch adopted the euro.
In France, the rejection of the constitution referendum was considered a stinging blow to President Jacques Chirac.
But he said after the vote was announced, that voters had made their "sovereign decision, and I note it."
Chirac had campaigned heavily for a "Yes" vote.
France -- a founding member of the European Union -- was the first nation to reject the proposed constitution.
Moving quickly, Chirac on Tuesday appointed Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin to replace Jean-Pierre Raffarin as prime minister.
Raffarin's resignation was expected in the aftermath of the constitution rejection Sunday by French voters.
With the addition of more nations to the EU, including the possible admission of Turkey, there are fears in France that jobs could drift to new EU members in eastern Europe, where taxes are lower and workers work for less, he said.
Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
