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| Dutch voter rejection of E.U.-Ukraine trade deal could be a harbinger | Dutch voter rejection of E.U.-Ukraine trade deal could be a harbinger |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| PARIS — When Dutch voters overwhelmingly rejected a European Union trade deal with Ukraine on Wednesday, they affirmed an increasingly outspoken Euroskeptic movement in their own country and abroad. | |
| The Wednesday vote was specifically a referendum over a lengthy and complicated trade agreement that the Dutch parliament had already ratified, along with the other 27 E.U. member states. But in a larger sense, the vote was the first populist plebiscite in a season that will test relations between Brussels and its subordinate capitals more than ever before. | |
| The “no” vote reverberated swiftly across a Europe still struggling with the euro-zone financial crisis, the largest migrant influx on the continent since World War II and recurring terrorist attacks committed by radicalized members of its own citizenry. | |
| [Dutch voters reject trade deal out of anger against E.U.] | [Dutch voters reject trade deal out of anger against E.U.] |
| On June 23, Britons will go to the polls to answer the question: “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?” Advocates for a “Brexit,” as the British exit campaign is known, were celebrating the Dutch referendum as early as an hour after polls closed Wednesday night. | |
| “Dutch exit polls seem to indicate big No to EU vote,” Nigel Farage, leader of the right-wing U.K Independence Party, wrote on Twitter. “Hooray!” | “Dutch exit polls seem to indicate big No to EU vote,” Nigel Farage, leader of the right-wing U.K Independence Party, wrote on Twitter. “Hooray!” |
| Farage later wrote that he had spoken to members of GeenPiel, the Dutch anti-E.U. campaign largely responsible for the referendum in the Netherlands, and that “lots of them” were planning on traveling to Britain to campaign for Brexit. | |
| In Russia, where the administration of President Vladimir Putin has quietly supported right-wing and anti-E.U. parties across the continent, the referendum results were seen as a victory. The voters’ rejection “means that citizens of the Netherlands have questions, mistrust,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said after the referendum, the Interfax news agency reported. | |
| E.U. advocates worried that Wednesday’s results will create the perception of a Europe turning its back on a post-revolutionary Ukraine still rooted in its Soviet past. | E.U. advocates worried that Wednesday’s results will create the perception of a Europe turning its back on a post-revolutionary Ukraine still rooted in its Soviet past. |
| “It looks like Europe is not committed to the long haul,” said Judy Dempsey, a senior associate at Carnegie Europe, a Brussels think tank. Ukrainians “are going to see it as the beginning of a domino effect, and it just shows that the E.U.’s heart is not in it.” | “It looks like Europe is not committed to the long haul,” said Judy Dempsey, a senior associate at Carnegie Europe, a Brussels think tank. Ukrainians “are going to see it as the beginning of a domino effect, and it just shows that the E.U.’s heart is not in it.” |
| Russian officials have already begun exploiting that perception. As Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, wrote in a Facebook post: “The only thing I am really sorry about is that the experiment is carried out on the live body of the Ukrainian people without any anesthesia.” | Russian officials have already begun exploiting that perception. As Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, wrote in a Facebook post: “The only thing I am really sorry about is that the experiment is carried out on the live body of the Ukrainian people without any anesthesia.” |
| [London Mayor Boris Johnson backs ‘Brexit,’ boosting anti-E.U. campaign] | [London Mayor Boris Johnson backs ‘Brexit,’ boosting anti-E.U. campaign] |
| Peter Pomerantsev, a senior fellow at the London-based Legatum Institute, said the referendum illustrates a shift in “Holland’s international reputation” from “Anne Frank Holland, liberal Holland” to a country where a radical right — led by Geert Wilders, an outspoken critic of Islam — is rising significantly in the polls. | Peter Pomerantsev, a senior fellow at the London-based Legatum Institute, said the referendum illustrates a shift in “Holland’s international reputation” from “Anne Frank Holland, liberal Holland” to a country where a radical right — led by Geert Wilders, an outspoken critic of Islam — is rising significantly in the polls. |
| Across Europe, he added, groups like Wilders’ Party for Freedom can no longer be considered to be on the fringe. “This shows that the right wing can be really effective,” Pomerantsev said. “They can target their aims, and achieve their real goals. Maybe in Brussels people will start waking up.” | |
| The unusual Dutch outrage over the E.U. trade bill, Pomerantsev added, also raises significant questions about the future of political life in Europe, now home to a number of populist parties with broad bases of support: “Are we going to start having referenda about everything now?” he asked. | The unusual Dutch outrage over the E.U. trade bill, Pomerantsev added, also raises significant questions about the future of political life in Europe, now home to a number of populist parties with broad bases of support: “Are we going to start having referenda about everything now?” he asked. |
| For some, what was most devastating about Wednesday’s referendum was the lack of a pro-European campaign to match the clamor of the European Union’s many critics. | For some, what was most devastating about Wednesday’s referendum was the lack of a pro-European campaign to match the clamor of the European Union’s many critics. |
| “They’re letting the populist movements set the tone and set the agenda,” Dempsey said. “The E.U. seems to have no sense of mission, no sense of unity about what it stands for.” | “They’re letting the populist movements set the tone and set the agenda,” Dempsey said. “The E.U. seems to have no sense of mission, no sense of unity about what it stands for.” |
| Read more | Read more |
| European leaders strike deal to try to keep Britain in the E.U. | European leaders strike deal to try to keep Britain in the E.U. |
| What’s a ‘Brexit’? A guide to Britain’s E.U. drama for confused non-Europeans. | What’s a ‘Brexit’? A guide to Britain’s E.U. drama for confused non-Europeans. |
| Europe wants Britain to stay in the E.U., but not at any cost | Europe wants Britain to stay in the E.U., but not at any cost |
| Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world | Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world |