In the night of 20 to 21 October, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was in pessimistic mood as to the possibility of finding a solution to the ratification of the association agreement with Ukraine. On 6 April this year, the Dutch voted in a consultative referendum against the EU-Ukraine association agreement and the Netherlands is now the only EU member state that has not yet ratified the agreement (see EUROPE 11632).
After the first day of the European Council, the prime minister told the press that there was little room to manoeuvre in the parliament in The Hague to reach a solution, going on to say that he was fairly pessimistic about the chances of reaching a solution acceptable to all sides. Rutte has undertaken to present his proposal to the Dutch Parliament by 1 November.
However, he went on to stress that he will do all in his power to reconcile both national and foreign interests. He said that the Dutch non-ratification of the agreement could have a highly significant impact. He explained that the association agreement cannot be taken separately from the instability in the Ukraine/Russia region and that he hopes to avoid a situation in which the Dutch decision has a negative impact on the region's stability.
Over dinner, Rutte presented his European counterparts with a proposal that needs to satisfy the 27, the Ukrainians and the Dutch parliament. It is expected to take the form of a binding declaration signed by all 28 member states, stressing that the association agreement is without prejudice to Ukraine's future accession to the EU and will not bring about any considerable transfers of funds from the EU to Ukraine. A second declaration, this one national, will state that military cooperation does not mean that Dutch soldiers will be sent off to defend Ukraine. These points are the sources of concern to the electorate.
According to sources quoting the Dutch daily newspaper Volkskrant, Croatia and the Czech Republic have rejected the idea of a legally binding declaration. Others are said to be reluctant to support Rutte in the absence of a detailed proposal, Volkskrant goes on to report. For her part, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the press that the situation in the Netherlands was not an easy one. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant, with Élodie Lamer and Aminata Niang)