PittsburghAfterDark
CAGiversary!
Dutch say strong No to EU Constitution
01.06.2005 - 21:10 CET | By Mark Beunderman
The Netherlands has rejected the EU constitution, with 63 percent of the Dutch voting against the text and 37 in favour, exit polls show.
An exit poll on the result of today's referendum on the EU charter was released at 21.00 CET by Interview/NSS for Dutch public television.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.
Interview/NSS estimated turnout to be at 62 percent, far above the 30 percent threshold necessary for the referendum to be valid.
Polls closed today at 21.00 and the first official results are expected to emerge at 22.00.
The percentage of Dutch "No" votes lies even higher than polls had predicted yesterday (around 60 percent).
The Dutch referendum is non-binding, meaning that the Dutch parliament has the final say on ratification of the EU Charter.
But the parliament, which initiated the referendum, has repeatedly said it would adopt the result of the poll if turnout were higher than 30 percent.
The Dutch want less "Brussels"
Two pollsters yesterday (31 May) already released analyses of the reasons of the Dutch "No".
They both found that the rejection of the EU constitution was primarily based on general uneasiness with the EU.
A TNS/NIPO survey for RTL television found that "the Dutch are predominantly afraid that the Netherlands will lose its identity in Europe and that the Netherlands will not maintain its influence in the European Union."
The polling company went on to state that the Dutch think that "European unification goes too quickly".
TNS/NIPO noted that "remarkably", sideline issues like Turkish EU accession, the Euro, and discontent with the Dutch government - finally did not constitute the main arguments for voters turning their backs on the Constitution.
Election researcher Maurice de Hond found that 78 percent of the Dutch think that "Brussels should have less of a say on issues close to citizens."
Seventy-three percent of respondents said that the EU should be "much more democratic".
Strikingly, according to Mr de Hond's poll, less than half backed the idea of a common EU foreign policy.
Forty-five percent of respondents agreed that "there should be one approach to foreign policy in the EU, not seperate approaches of every single country."
Meanwhile, 30 percent of the Dutch still want the Dutch guilder back, according to Mr De Hond.
Link
Wow, stunning! You know, you have to hand it to the Dutch, they saw this monstrosity for what it was and tossed it out on its heads.
Kudos to killers of the EU!
01.06.2005 - 21:10 CET | By Mark Beunderman
The Netherlands has rejected the EU constitution, with 63 percent of the Dutch voting against the text and 37 in favour, exit polls show.
An exit poll on the result of today's referendum on the EU charter was released at 21.00 CET by Interview/NSS for Dutch public television.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.
Interview/NSS estimated turnout to be at 62 percent, far above the 30 percent threshold necessary for the referendum to be valid.
Polls closed today at 21.00 and the first official results are expected to emerge at 22.00.
The percentage of Dutch "No" votes lies even higher than polls had predicted yesterday (around 60 percent).
The Dutch referendum is non-binding, meaning that the Dutch parliament has the final say on ratification of the EU Charter.
But the parliament, which initiated the referendum, has repeatedly said it would adopt the result of the poll if turnout were higher than 30 percent.
The Dutch want less "Brussels"
Two pollsters yesterday (31 May) already released analyses of the reasons of the Dutch "No".
They both found that the rejection of the EU constitution was primarily based on general uneasiness with the EU.
A TNS/NIPO survey for RTL television found that "the Dutch are predominantly afraid that the Netherlands will lose its identity in Europe and that the Netherlands will not maintain its influence in the European Union."
The polling company went on to state that the Dutch think that "European unification goes too quickly".
TNS/NIPO noted that "remarkably", sideline issues like Turkish EU accession, the Euro, and discontent with the Dutch government - finally did not constitute the main arguments for voters turning their backs on the Constitution.
Election researcher Maurice de Hond found that 78 percent of the Dutch think that "Brussels should have less of a say on issues close to citizens."
Seventy-three percent of respondents said that the EU should be "much more democratic".
Strikingly, according to Mr de Hond's poll, less than half backed the idea of a common EU foreign policy.
Forty-five percent of respondents agreed that "there should be one approach to foreign policy in the EU, not seperate approaches of every single country."
Meanwhile, 30 percent of the Dutch still want the Dutch guilder back, according to Mr De Hond.
Link
Wow, stunning! You know, you have to hand it to the Dutch, they saw this monstrosity for what it was and tossed it out on its heads.
Kudos to killers of the EU!
er posted on his moms computer!
You guys take yourselves so seriously its comical...
