#EU-Ukraine: Different public reactions to Dutch referendum about Ukraine trade agreement

Voters in the Netherlands have rejected in a referendum an EU partnership deal to remove trade barriers with Ukraine. The vote was widely seen in the Netherlands as a test of public opinion towards the EU.

Turnout was low, 32.2%, but above the 30% threshold for the vote to be valid. The deal was rejected by 61.1% of votes, compared with 38.1% in favour.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the government might have to reconsider the deal, although the vote is not binding.

Dutch Interior Minister Ronald Plasterk accepted the cabinet would need to consider the result but added that the government might need to look again at the 2015 referendum law that triggered Wednesday's vote. The minimum threshold could be based on the number of voters rather than the percentage, he suggested.

"My view is that if the turnout is more than 30%, with such a victory for the 'No' camp, ratification cannot go ahead without discussion" Rutte said in a televised reaction. It is also an embarrassment for a Dutch government that currently holds the EU rotating presidency.

The result creates a headache for the Dutch government, as the Dutch parliament approved the EU association agreement with Ukraine last year. All the other 27 EU member states have already ratified the deal.

EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker had described the stakes in the run-up to the vote as being high, warning that a No vote could trigger a wider crisis in the 28-member bloc.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko insisted his country would "continue our movement towards the EU. I am sure that strategically this event is not an obstacle on Ukraine's path towards Europe."

Geert Wilders, who leads the anti-EU and anti-Islam Freedom Party, said the result was the "beginning of the end for the EU".

One of the Dutch Eurosceptics behind the referendum, Thierry Baudet, said there could be more votes in the future, covering the euro, open borders and any future EU trade deal with the United States.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev also appeared to welcome the result, tweeting that it was an indication of the European attitude to Ukraine's political system.

The Russian government was vehemently opposed to the EU deal with Ukraine and was widely thought to have pressed then-President Viktor Yanukovych to reject it in November 2013. Mr Yanukovych's decision prompted protests in Kiev that ultimately led to his downfall.

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