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: 国产成人涩涩涩视频在线观看免费 | 欧美激情一区二区三区蜜桃视频 | 国产黄网在线 | 你懂的成人 | 欧美黑人性大免费高清视频 | 香蕉视频网站免费观视频 | 欧美一区二区三区gg高清影视 | 性激烈的欧美三级高清视频 | 黑人巨大在线 | 黄色国产片 | 国产精品国产高清国产专区 | 黄色黄站 | 欧美国产亚洲精品高清不卡 | 欧美日韩综合一区 | 欧美另类一区 | 成人免费短视频 | 九九综合视频 | 精品国产自在久久 | 日韩一卡二卡三卡 | 99精品国产自在现线观看 | 黑人操中国美女 | 黄网免费在线观看 | 免费在线看黄的网站 | 亚洲h视频在线观看 | 一级特黄性色生活片一区二区 | 亚洲欧美视频二区 | 把女人弄爽特黄aa大片视频 | 一级做a爰片性色毛片新版的 | 亚洲精品一区二区三区四 | 国产高清不卡码一区二区三区 | 成人综合视频网 | 91播放在线 | 国产午夜一级鲁丝片 | 亚洲产在线精品第一站不卡 | 成年男女的免费视频网站 | 国产视频在线观看福利 | 手机看片1024久久香蕉 | 欧美日韩一区二区不卡三区 | 成人国产第一区在线观看 | 全免费观看a级毛片 | 五月婷婷综合在线视频 |