National referenda on the European Constitution
Czech Republic	Cancelled
Denmark	Postponed
France	No (55% of 69%)
Ireland	Date not set
Luxembourg	Yes (57% of 88%)
Netherlands	No (62% of 63%)
Poland	Postponed
Portugal	Postponed
Spain	Yes (77% of 42%)
United Kingdom	Postponed
Parliamentary approvals

On 1 June 2005 a consultative referendum was held in the Netherlands to ask whether the country should ratify the proposed Constitution of the European Union. The vote was the first national referendum in over two hundred years, and was not binding on the government, meaning that despite the electorate rejecting the Constitution it could theoretically still be ratified by the Estates-General. The government has said, however, that it will abide by a decisive result, provided turnout exceeds 30 per cent. Official results say that 61.5 per cent of voters rejected the Constitution, on a turnout of 63.3 per cent. The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, commonly referred to as the European Constitution, is an international treaty intended to create a constitution for the European Union. ... Image File history File links X_mark. ... Image File history File links Yes_check. ... Image File history File links X_mark. ... Image File history File links Yes_check. ... The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, commonly referred to as the European Constitution, is an international treaty intended to create a constitution for the European Union. ... June 1 is the 152nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (153rd in leap years), with 213 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ... Ratification is the process of adopting an international treaty, or a constitution or other nationally binding document (such as an amendment to a constitution) by the agreement of multiple subnational entities. ... The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, commonly referred to as the European Constitution, is an international treaty intended to create a constitution for the European Union. ... The Estates-General (Staten-Generaal) is the parliament of the Netherlands. ...

The question put to voters was:

Bent U voor of tegen instemming door Nederland met het verdrag tot vaststelling van een grondwet voor Europa?

"Are you for or against approval by the Netherlands of the treaty establishing a constitution for Europe?"

The possible answers were voor (for), tegen (against.) At some polling stations in the larger cities it was also possible to cast a blank ballot. The latter did not count for the result, but allowed voters to make an affirmative abstention.

The referendum came just three days after the French referendum on the Constitution resulted in its rejection. Because all EU member states need to ratify the treaty for it to take effect, some regarded the Dutch referendum as irrelevant. However, Dutch campaigners for a "Yes" vote appealed to the electorate to avoid damaging the Netherlands' standing in Europe in the way that the French result is perceived to have weakened the position of France. Many "No" campaigners expressed the view that French rejection of the treaty would encourage Dutch voters to follow suit. A second "No" vote in a referendum in one of the founding countries of the project of European integration is widely regarded as having the power to "kill off" the treaty. Opinion polls in the days leading up to the referendum gave the "No" campaign a clear lead. On 29 May 2005 a referendum was held in France to decide whether the country should ratify the proposed Constitution of the European Union. ... Opinion polls are surveys of opinion using sampling. ...

Campaign

The governing and major opposition parties, making up 80 per cent of the country's members of parliament, all backed the Constitution, along with the major newspapers. The parties of the coalition: the Christian Democratic Appeal, People's Party for Freedom and Democracy and Democrats 66, all campaigned for a "Yes" vote, as did the opposition Labour Party and GreenLeft. The Socialist Party, List Pim Fortuyn, Group Wilders, Political Reformed Party and Christian Union all campaigned for a "No" vote. The Christen-Democratisch Appèl (CDA, Christian Democratic Appeal) is a political party of the Netherlands that was established in 1980. ... The Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD), literally Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy, is a free market liberal party in the Netherlands. ... Democraten 66 (D66), is a social liberal party in the Netherlands. ... For the Belgian political party of the same name, see Partij van de Arbeid (Belgium). ... GroenLinks (GL, GreenLeft) is a political party in the Netherlands. ... The Socialist Party (Dutch: Socialistische Partij) is a socialist party in the Netherlands. ... Lijst Pim Fortuyn (List Pim Fortuyn) is a political party in the Netherlands. ... The Group Wilders (Groep Wilders) is a right-wing conservative Dutch political group that was started in August 2004 after Geert Wilders left the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy (a liberal party) after a disagreement about the political direction. ... The Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij (SGP, literally Politically Reformed Party) is a Dutch constitutional theocratic political party following the conservative Christian principles, in the tradition of the Dutch Reformed Church. ... The ChristianUnion (ChristenUnie) is a relatively young political party in the Netherlands. ...

The result is notable, since the largest party to campaign a "No" was the Socialist Party, with 6 per cent of the votes during the last elections. The "Yes" campaign was supported by all major parties (most of which are currently at loss in the polls).

Opinion polls in the months before the vote tended to show the public split on the issue, with the "No" campaign taking a clear lead as the referendum approached; but as many as half of the electorate admitted to having little or no knowledge of the contents and provisions of the Constitution.

A popular Internet vote test called Referendumwijzer was launched on 21 April, but critics have argued that it is biased towards the Constitution, pointing out that even those most strongly against the treaty are receiving results in favour of it because of questions regarding democracy and the environment which are not necessarily relevant to the Constitution. Television broadcasts by the "Yes" campaign provoked controversy for raising the spectre of war and chaos in Europe if the Constitution was rejected. The most emotive of the adverts, which featured emotive images of the Holocaust and Srebrenica Massacre, were never aired by the "Yes" campaign, but received national news coverage and were received very poorly. Child survivors of the Holocaust filmed during the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp by the Red Army. ... Identified Victims of Srebrenica Massacre The Srebrenica massacre was the July 1995 killing of an estimated 7,800 to 8,000 Bosniak males, ranging in age from teenagers to the elderly, in the region of Srebrenica by a Serb Army of Republika Srpska under general Ratko Mladić including Serbian state...

A TNS/NIPO poll on 19 May indicated that 38 per cent of people intended to vote, with 27 per cent in favour, and 54 per cent against the Constitution. A poll by the same organisation on 30 May—two days before the referendum—concluded that 58 per cent of those who intended to vote would reject the treaty. As the referendum approached, many "Yes" campaigners began to predict defeat, and some even expressed relief after the French rejection of the treaty, taking the view that this would prevent the Netherlands from being the first or only country to obstruct the course of ratification, even though they also expressed dismay that the French result had given the "No" campaign greater legitimacy and acceptance, and had suggested to the public that the Netherlands' standing in Europe would not be significantly damaged by a "No" vote, with some going as far as saying that the Netherlands would look like a fool in front of the rest of Europe.

Results

Source: kiesraad

Reasons for rejection

According to a poll [1] by Maurice de Hond, 30 per cent of the Constitution's opponents used the referendum as an opportunity to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the government, instead of confining their deliberations to the contents of the treaty that was put before them. At the time of the referendum, the Netherlands' centre-right coalition government, led by Jan Peter Balkenende, was suffering a period of unpopularity as it tried to push through cuts in public spending, and there was widespread disillusion with the country's political elite. Prime Minister of the Netherlands Dr. Jan Peter Balkenende ▶ (help· info) (* May 7, 1956) is Prime Minister of The Netherlands since July 22, 2002. ...

Some matters relating to the European Union that motivated the "No" vote were also not strictly connected to the provisions of the Constitution. The debate over the accession of Turkey to the European Union, as well as countries of Eastern Europe, led to fears of an increase in immigration, or an outsourcing of jobs to new member states. Furthermore, the Netherlands had not held a referendum on the euro, and amidst concern that its adoption had led to an increase in the cost of living (combined with Dutch citizens' status as the largest net per capita contributors to the EU), around 30 per cent of the voters took the opportunity to "take revenge" on the political establishment for seeking to advance European integration in a manner that did not engage the public to the extent that it could have done. Turkeys formal application to join the European Community—the organisation that has since developed into the European Union—was made on April 14, 1987. ... Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current national boundaries: Russia (dark orange), other countries of the former USSR (medium orange) and other former communist regimes (light orange). ... The euro (symbol: €; banking code: EUR) is the currency of twelve European Union member states: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain, collectively known as the Eurozone. ... Cost of Living is the name of a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, from the fifth season. ...

A larger group of voters, however, voted "No" for reasons that were connected to the Constitution itself. 48 per cent thought the new Constitution was worse than the existing treaties, and 44 per cent cited the declining influence of the Netherlands in the EU, with the treaty as an important motivation. Linked to this was a fear of being dominated by the powerhouses of the European Union (particularly the United Kingdom, France and Germany). The perception of an aggressive and ruthless style on the part of the "Yes" campaign also put off many. The Minister of Justice, Piet Hein Donner, warned that a rejection would raise the chances of war and stated that "the C in CDA implies that you vote in favour of the constitution." The Minister for Economic Affairs, Laurens Jan Brinkhorst, said that "the lights would go off" in the case of a rejection and that The Netherlands would become "the Switzerland of Europe." The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy withdrew a controversial television broadcast, in which rejection was connected with the Holocaust, the genocide in Srebrenica and the terrorist attacks on March 11, 2004 in Madrid. This seriously damaged the "Yes" campaign. Jan Piet Hein Donner (born 20 October 1948 in Amsterdam) is the current Dutch Minister of Justice in the second Balkenende cabinet as member of the Dutch Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). ... The Christen-Democratisch Appèl (CDA, Christian Democratic Appeal) is a political party of the Netherlands that was established in 1980. ... Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst (born March 18, 1937) is a Dutch politician. ... The Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD), literally Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy, is a free market liberal party in the Netherlands. ... Concentration camp inmates during the Holocaust The Holocaust was Nazi Germanys systematic genocide (ethnic cleansing) of various ethnic, religious, national, and secular groups during World War II. Early elements include the Kristallnacht pogrom and the T-4 Euthanasia Program established by Hitler that killed some 200,000 people. ... Identified Victims of Srebrenica Massacre The Srebrenica massacre was the July 1995 killing of an estimated 7,800 to 8,000 Bosniak males, ranging in age from teenagers to the elderly, in the region of Srebrenica by a Serb Army of Republika Srpska under general Ratko Mladić including Serbian state... Srebrenica (Serbian: Сребреница) is a town in the east of Bosnia and Herzegovina in its Republika Srpska entity. ... (Redirected from 11 March, 2004 Madrid attacks) The scene of one of the Madrid bombings. ... 11 March is the 70th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (71st in Leap year). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

External links and references

Wikinews has news related to this article:

61.6% of the Dutch people say 'no' to EU constitution

• Official government website for the Constitution (in Dutch)
• Referendum Commission (in Dutch)
• Referendumwijzer (the controversial vote test; in Dutch)

News and analysis: Image File history File links Wikinews-logo. ... Wikinews is a free content news source and a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. ...

• Dutch say 'devastating no' to EU constitution (2 June 2005). The Guardian.
• Sage, Adam (2 June 2005). Discontented Dutch seize on chance to deliver protest vote. The Times.
• Traynor, Ian & Watt, Nicholas (2 June 2005). Crushing defeat leaves EU vision in tatters. The Guardian.
• Dutch press scolds politicians (2 June 2005). BBC News.
• Dutch say 'No' to EU constitution (2 June 2005). BBC News.
• Beunderman, Mark (1 June 2005). Dutch say strong No to EU Constitution. EUobserver.
• Mulvey, Stephen (1 June 2005). Varied reasons behind Dutch 'No'. BBC News.
• Parker, George; Bickerton, Ian & Atkins, Ralph (1 June 2005). Europe in turmoil as the Dutch vote No. Financial Times.
• Dutch vote on Europe constitution (1 June 2005). BBC News.
• Mahony, Honor (1 June 2005). High turnout for Dutch vote. EUobserver.
• Simons, Marlise (1 June 2005). Dutch have own reasons to balk. International Herald Tribune.
• Beunderman, Mark (31 May 2005). Polls point to a strong Dutch No. EUobserver.
• Bickerton, Ian (31 May 2005). Dutch begin voting on European constitution. Financial Times.
• Browne, Anthony (31 May 2005). Dutch expected to land final blow. The Times.
• Mulvey, Stephen (31 May 2005). Dutch argue over EU future. BBC News.
• Johnson, Brian (30 May 2005) Balkenende: Ignore French EU constitution 'non'. EUpolitix.
• Mahony, Honor & Beunderman, Mark (30 May 2005). Dutch vote takes on greater significance. EUobserver.
• Smith, Nicola & Sparks, Justin (29 May 2005) Dispirited Dutch plot revenge with a no vote on Europe. The Times.
• Morris, Chris (27 May 2005). Dutch doubters defy EU project. BBC News.
• Johnson, Brian (12 April 2005) Dutch in disarray over EU constitution. EUpolitix.
• Dutch plan June vote on EU treaty (23 February 2005). BBC News.
• Clark, Andy (26 October 2004). EU faces Dutch grudge test. BBC News.

Further discussion and information:

• A Fistful of Euros (prominent weblog with discussion and analysis of the vote)
• Have Your Say: What will the Dutch EU vote mean? (moderated BBC forum)
• In pictures: Dutch polling station from BBC News