Dutch too overwhelmingly reject EU constitution

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Dutch too overwhelmingly reject EU constitution

Look at the "Euraopean democracy" Europeans brag about:
"I voted no because I don't trust the government," a 65-year-old
Amsterdam resident, who refused to give his name, told AFP.

They cannot even trust the goverment they elect. Why???

Corruption!!!

The whole Europe is corrupt.




http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050601/wl_afp/euconstitution_050601231022

Dutch overwhelmingly reject EU constitution, landing second deadly blow
2 hours, 21 minutes ago

THE HAGUE (AFP) - Dutch voters fired a second deadly shot to the heart
of the European project, rejecting the first-ever EU constitution after
a campaign that exposed deep divisions over the direction of Europe.

Dutch voters spurned the EU constitution with an overwhelming 61.6
percent voting "no", ignoring calls by most political parties to
support the text, according to unofficial results compiled by the ANP
news agency from all the ballots cast in the Netherlands.

Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said he was "disappointed" by the
result but promised to honour the outcome.

"It is a clear outcome. Of course I am very disappointed," he told
reporters.

"The government will respect the vote," the prime minister, who is
scheduled to attend a parliamentary debate on Thursday on the outcome
of the referendum, said.

The stinging defeat, three days after nearly 55 percent of voters in
France also jettisoned the charter, is a second, potentially fatal blow
to a treaty cherished by EU officials but viewed warily by much of the
continent's population.

The text must be ratified by all 25     European Union states to become
effective.

French President Jacques Chirac said the Dutch voters' decision
highlighted people's concerns over the future direction of Europe and
should be considered at a European summit in Brussels June 16-17.

"We need to take the time to analyse the consequences for the Union of
the votes in France and the Netherlands," he said.

Chirac, echoing a call by Balkenende, said the ratification process
should carry on regardless. "Now that 11 countries have spoken, it is
up to the other member states of the Union to have their say," the
French leader said.

German     Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder agreed. "I am convinced that we
need the constitution if we want a democratic, social-minded and strong
Europe," Schroeder said. "The ratification process must continue."

Britain, however, raised deep concerns.

"The verdict of these referendums now raises profound questions for all
of us about the future direction of Europe," British Foreign Secretary
Jack Straw said.

In the wake of the French vote, eurosceptic British media were already
citing senior government sources as saying London could call off its
plans for a referendum.

Turnout in the Netherlands was 62.8 percent. It is a pivotal figure
because, although the referendum was not binding on the government, it
had pledged to respect the result if turnout was at least 30 percent.

The latest blow to the treaty from another of the European Union's six
founding members deepens a sense of crisis among EU leaders who say the
treaty would harmonise how the bloc is run and ensure long-term
economic and social progress.

In contrast to the shocked mood in much of Europe, Dutch far right
legislators were jubilant after their vigorous "no" campaign.

"I had not expected this massive turnout. I am proud of the Dutch
people," populist Geert Wilders, who defected from the Liberals to form
his eponymous far-right party with one seat in parliament, told NOS
television.

Several hundred supporters of the far left Socialist Party, which had
called for a "no" vote against the EU's free-market policies, cheered
and hugged in a hall in Amsterdam's Artis Zoo as the first exit poll
was announced.

The constitution has already been ratified by nine countries. European
leaders say it is crucial to prevent gridlock in the EU following its
historic enlargement last year, when 10 mostly ex-communist countries
joined.

In the Netherlands, analysts agreed the Dutch "no" vote was not a
rejection of European integration but a warning about its pace, coupled
with a sense of disillusionment with politics in general.

"I voted no because I don't trust the government," a 65-year-old
Amsterdam resident, who refused to give his name, told AFP.

He said he was also unhappy about EU enlargement last year.

"In the Netherlands, more than 40 percent of the people think that
Europe is moving too fast with the euro and enlargement with eastern
European countries followed by Turkey," said Maurice de Hond, director
of one of the main polling institutes in the Netherlands.

Surveys also show that the Dutch fear a rapidly expanding EU could
swallow up their nation and that focusing power in Brussels could
eventually force the Dutch to revise liberal laws on cannabis, same-sex
marriages and euthanasia.

"This is a free country here," Soraya, a prostitute in Amsterdam's red
light district told AFP, referring to legalised prostitution in the
Netherlands. "We don't want Europe to come and change that."

Balkenende's center-right coalition has approval ratings of only 19
percent, but while heads have rolled in France where the prime minister
was replaced after Sunday's defeat there, observers say there will be
no political fallout in the Netherlands.

Here, it was the Dutch parliament that pushed for a referendum against
the wishes of the government, which had wanted the assembly -- where
more than 80 percent of lawmakers favor the treaty -- to decide.

A survey by the Interview-NSS bureau showed that 58 percent of Dutch
voters did not believe the "no" vote should force the government to
step down.

The unofficial results released by ANP late Wednesday did not include
Dutch voters abroad who cast their ballot in the mail. The results of
those votes will be included in the final, official figures to be
published on Monday.

Date:1 Jun 2005 18:38:36 -0700 Author: