With the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte having warned the Dutch parliament on Thursday 22 September that it was unlikely that his country would ratify the association agreement with Ukraine following the referendum on 6 April (see EUROPE 11527), a European source has told EUROPE that there has currently been no progress towards reaching a solution.
This source explained that internal consultations were underway, but with no progress to date. Speaking to the press, the spokesperson for the European External Action Service, Nabila Massrali, confirmed that work was underway internally in the Netherlands. She added that the European Council had called upon the Council in June of this year to find a solution (see EUROPE 11582). However, this solution is likely to take some finding. At the European Council, Rutte explained that he wanted a legally binding solution that was acceptable to all parties involved, in other words the Netherlands, Ukraine and the other member states. "It's a very tricky equation", a Dutch source told EUROPE, adding that discussions would be carried out across several Councils of the EU. According to a Ukrainian source, the subject may also be discussed at the European Council in October.
No timetable has been laid down to resolve the issue. However, according to a Ukrainian source, the Netherlands wants the issue to be resolved before the general elections in the country, which are scheduled for March 2017, in order to ensure that the question is not politicised. The source went on to add that nobody wanted to sign off an unpopular decision ahead of the elections.
The Netherlands is the last member state still to ratify the association agreement, which is being provisionally applied in the meantime. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)