The thoughtless use of referendums and other forms of "people's democracy" sooner or later undermines the functioning of the Dutch representative democracy and the rule of law, according to Piet Hein Donner, the vice president of the Netherlands most important advisory body the Council of State, in the Council's annual report, the Volkskrant reports.
Ukraine referendum
Feb 22 '17 10:50
Prime Minister Mark Rutte got support from a majority in the lower house of Dutch parliament for amendments he wants to add to the association agreement between the European Union and Ukraine so that the Netherlands can ratify it. In the Tweede Kamer on Tuesday the VVD, PvdA, D66 and GroenLinks supported his solution, NOS reports.
Feb 9 '17 15:30
Interior Minister Ronald Plasterk can not guarantee that no fraud was committed in the collection of signatures in support of the Ukraine referendum, he said in response to questions from law firm Bureau Brandeis on the matter. The Electoral Council took a sample and verified the authenticity of the address with the name of the signee, but it can not be said with certainty that the signatures were submitted by different individuals, the Minster said according to the Volkskrant.
Dec 16 '16 15:45
Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the other European Union leaders agreed on amendments the Netherlands wants to add to the association agreement with the Ukraine in Brussels on Thursday.
Dec 15 '16 08:59
The European Summit in Brussels today is expected to be a tense one. One of the main items on the agenda is the fact that the Netherlands still has not ratified the association agreement with the Ukraine, the only EU country not to do so. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will try get his fellow EU leaders to accept a set of amendments to the deal, with which he hopes he can convince Dutch parliament to ratify the agreement.
Dec 13 '16 11:40
Prime Minister Mark Rutte plans to ask the EU leaders to put limits on he association agreement with the Ukraine at a EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, Reuters reports based on information from diplomatic sources.
A Dutch drafted document, which Reuters caught sight off, states that the Netherlands wants to make it clear that this association agreement is not a "stepping stone" for the Ukraine to become a member of the European Union.
Nov 23 '16 11:55
In the first nine months of 2016 Dutch companies exported more to the Ukraine than in the same period last year, according to figures from the European Commission (EC). The total trade between the Netherlands increased by 4 percent to 1.17 billion euros. According to the Commission, this can be attributed to the association agreement between the EU and Ukraine, the trade part of which took effect on January 1st, ANP reports.
Nov 4 '16 08:31
PvdA parliamentarian Jacques Monasch is threatening to support a motion of no confidence by the opposition parties against the government next week if a decision is not made about the Ukraine referendum, he said to NOS on Thursday.
Nov 1 '16 08:58
GeenPeil, the intiators behind the referendum on the association agreement between the European Union and Ukraine in April, launched an campaign against a number of political parties, including the D66, VVD and PvdA. According to GeenPeil, these parties are ignoring the results of the referendum, NU.nl reports.
Oct 31 '16 15:45
The government needs more time to find a solution on what to do about the problems resulting after the Netherlands voted against ratifying an association agreement between the European Union and Ukraine, Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Minister Bert Koenders of Foreign Affairs wrote to parliament on Monday, NU.nl reports.
This letter comes just a day before the deadline parliament set the government for making a decision. The Ministers call it "in the national interest" that more time is taken to find a suitable solution.
Oct 28 '16 16:00
The Dutch government is running out of time for finding a solution on what to do about ratifying the associatioin agreement between the European Union and Ukraine. The deadline is November 1st. And it doesn't seem likely that a decision will be made on Friday, NU.nl reports.
"Today and in the coming days we are considerably going to talk about it", Minsiter Bert Koenders said, according to NU. "We still have a few days. We'll try to find a solution to the last moment."
Sep 23 '16 09:41
Prime Minister Mark Rutte faced a lot criticism from opposition parties during the second day of the Budget Debate in parliament on Thursday. Much of the angry words centered around the Prime Minister's statement regarding troublemakers among the young Turkish-Dutch community following an attempted coup in Turkey in July
Aug 16 '16 09:33
Documents leaked from the Open Society Foundations - a number of foundations belonging to American billionaire George Soros - revealed that Soros paid 4.9 million euros to Dutch foundations, charities and think tanks between 2009 and 2014
Jul 1 '16 07:42
The Netherlands' presidency of the European Union has come to an end. From today Slovakia is the new president. On Thursday EU council president Donald Tusk thanked Prime Minister Mark Rutte for the term, which which was not the easiest time to be president, with the asylum crisis, the Ukraine referendum and the Brexit referendum to deal with.
Jun 29 '16 10:40
Prime Minister Mark Rutte wants to change the association agreement between the European Union and the Ukraine in such a way that the concerns of the Dutch who voted against the agreement are alleviated. He is not sure whether this will be possible, but will make every effort to see whether it is
Jun 13 '16 15:45
The results of the Dutch referendum on the association agreement between the Ukraine and the European referendum are "disastrous", Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in the Ridderzaal to a room full of parliamentarians from the EU member states on Monday
Apr 15 '16 14:20
PVV leader Geert Wilders wants to take Prime Minister Mark Rutte to court. According to Wilders, the Prime Minister is breaking the law by not immediately responding to the "no"-vote in the referendum on the association agreement between the EU and Ukraine.
Apr 14 '16 13:55
The Dutch government may be forced by the Senate to remove its signature from the association agreement between the EU and Ukraine. The governing coalition of VVD and PvdA do not have a majority in the Senate, and all other parties seem set to vote for withdrawal from the deal. Prime Minister Mark Rutte stated that the cabinet will make a decision on what to do about the deal in June
Apr 12 '16 14:20
The Dutch government will come with an reaction to the Netherlands "no"-vote in the Ukraine referendum last week, and plans on how to proceed, by September at the latest, Minister Bert Koenders of Foreign Affairs wrote in a letter to Parliament on Tuesday.
Apr 12 '16 08:29
The official results of the referendum on the association agreement between the EU and Ukraine will be published on Tuesday afternoon, starting at 4:00 p.m.
Apr 8 '16 13:00
Minister Ronald Plasterk of Home Affairs is considering new rules surrounding subsidies for referendums, following questions on how the subsidies for the Ukraine referendum was used
Apr 7 '16 14:45
The Netherlands voting "no" in the referendum on the association agreement between the EU and Ukraine, has no effect on the agreement itself. The agreement was already signed and unanimously adopted by all EU member states' heads of government, and the Dutch "no" does not change that, a spokesperson for the European Commission said
Apr 7 '16 11:45
The Ukraine referendum on Wednesday shows that the Netherlands' referendum law needs revision, according to Home Affairs Minister Ronald Plasterk.
Apr 7 '16 08:00
On Thursday morning Dutch newspapers described the preliminary results of the Ukraine referendum - 61 percent against with a voter turnout of 32 percent - as "an embarrassment", "a dilemma" and a "recipe for discontent". All agree that the "no" vote means tough times ahead for Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his cabinet.
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