Mark Toner
Photo: Twitter / @StateDept
U.S. disappointed with the results of a referendum on Association of Ukraine with the European Union, which took place in the Netherlands on 6 April. This was stated by state Department spokesman mark Toner, Reuters reports.
“The U.S. is upset with the results of the survey, however, we respect the opinion of the Dutch, and the political process in the Netherlands,” said Toner. He noted that at the moment too early to draw conclusions about how the results of the vote will have an impact on establishing “closer ties of Ukraine with the EU”.
“The President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said about intention to continue working on the Association agreement with the EU, Kiev is also going to take the necessary steps in terms of reforms and other measures. We support them in these efforts”, — said the representative of the state Department.
The referendum on Association of Ukraine with the EU was held in the Netherlands on 6 April. According to preliminary data, the majority of participants (61.1%) opposed the agreement, their votes in support of it gave 38.1 per cent, still about one percent of the ballots declared invalid. The turnout was 32.2%, which makes the vote valid.
In the Kremlin the result of the vote was considered an indicator of distrust to the Dutch Association of Ukraine with the EU. “They [the results] show the attitude of the citizens of the Netherlands for certain documents. The citizens have questions and mistrust,” said the President’s press Secretary Dmitry Peskov.
The Association agreement should be ratified by all EU countries. This procedure is not completed only the Netherlands. The Dutch Parliament approved the document in the summer of 2015, however due to the fact that collected enough signatures, the issue brought to a referendum. The vote is Advisory in nature, however, if it is recognized held and a majority votes against, the government shall report to Parliament with a proposal: either to leave the agreement in force, despite the will of the people, or to refuse ratification.
The final results of the referendum will be announced April 12.
