Dutch reject EU constitution

AMSTERDAM - The Netherlands emphatically rejected the European Union constitution in a referendum on Wednesday, potentially killing off a treaty already spurned by France and plunging the bloc deeper into crisis.

With 66.8 per cent of votes counted, Dutch news agency ANP said 62.2 per cent had voted "No" to 37.8 per cent in favour with turnout at 63.9 per cent, well above the 39 per cent that voted in last year's European Parliament election.

"No" campaigners from the Socialist Party at a celebration in Amsterdam greeted the outcome with wild cheers, punching the air in jubilation after a campaign which united disparate fringe parties from left and right in hostility to the charter.

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende was quick to concede defeat for a "Yes" campaign led by his unpopular centre-right government but urged other countries in the bloc of 25 member states to press ahead with ratification.

"The voters have given a clear signal that cannot be misunderstood," he said. "We must do everything we can to involve citizens in the Europe of the future."

The Dutch vote is not legally binding, but Balkenende said the government would respect the result.

The resounding "No", even stronger than nearly 55 per cent against the treaty in France on Sunday, is the latest sign of Dutch anger with the political elite since the 2002 murder of anti-immigration populist Pim Fortuyn. Unease was further stoked by the killing last year of a filmmaker critical of Islam.

Leading "No" campaigner Geert Wilders, seen as an heir to Fortuyn, called on Balkenende to resign and call new elections.

Elections are not due until 2007 and Balkenende has insisted he would not quit if voters rejected the charter.

"If you realise that two-thirds of parliament supported the constitution and two out of three people in the land are against, it means a lot is wrong in the country," Wilders said.

Hostility to the euro, fears of a European superstate, concerns about immigration, security and a loss of Dutch influence in Brussels as well as disenchantment with the government and the sluggish economy fuelled the "No" vote.

The euro fell to its lowest level for eight months after the Dutch exit poll. The euro has steadily fallen against the dollar since March when polls turned negative on the treaty, which needs the approval of all members to go into force.

The rejection of the charter by the Netherlands, like France one of the six countries that founded the bloc in the 1950s, could deliver a fatal blow to the treaty designed to make the EU run better following its enlargement from 15 to 25 states.

Latvia's parliament is expected to approve the treaty with a big majority on Thursday, meaning 10 members representing almost half the EU's 454 million citizens will have approved it.

Nevertheless, Latvia's former Integration Minister Nils Muiznieks said after the Dutch voted: "This is a huge wakeup call for the whole European project. It looks like everybody involved in drawing up the EU constitution miscalculated."

The result also casts doubt on the EU's hopes for a stronger foreign policy and its plans to expand further to the western Balkans, Turkey and Ukraine, and raises questions about its appetite for economic reform amid mounting global competition.

"I can say that the leaders in Brussels are in disarray at the moment," said Mendeltje van Keulen, political analyst at the Clingendael Institute of international relations near The Hague.


Difficult times ahead

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso admitted the Dutch rejection heralded difficult times ahead for the EU while Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who holds the EU presidency, also said ratification had to continue.

EU leaders are due to discuss how to proceed at a summit on June 16-17. British Prime Minister Tony Blair hinted after the French vote that the Dutch result could help determine whether he calls off a referendum next year in his Eurosceptic country.

British Foreign Minister Jack Straw said the rejection by the French and the Dutch raised "profound questions for all of us about the future direction of Europe". He did not say whether Britain still planned to hold a referendum.

Opposition has been driven by a range of issues including opposition to Turkey's bid to join the bloc, concerns Brussels might undermine liberal Dutch policies on gay marriage and abortion and anger over high Dutch payments to the EU budget.

If EU leaders do halt ratification, analysts warn the bloc could sink into an extended period of introspection with repeat referendums unlikely given the strength of French and Dutch opposition and renegotiation of the charter also difficult.

- REUTERS