On Thursday 3 November, Margaritis Schinas, the spokesperson for the European Commission said that the Commission "appreciates the work done by the Dutch government to obtain a solution" on the ratification of the association agreement between the EU and Ukraine. The agreement was rejected during a non-binding referendum in the Netherlands on 6 April (see EUROPE 11527).
"The president of the Commission is ready to work with the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, and the Dutch political parties to find solutions at the European Council on 15-16 December", Schinas said, adding that Junker was in contact with Rutte. A European source informed EUROPE that contact between the Commission and the Netherlands had taken place at different levels.
On 31 October, the Dutch foreign minister, Bert Koenders, announced in a letter to Dutch parliamentarians that "given the national interests of the Netherlands, the cabinet has decided to pursue international negotiations over the forthcoming period before the European Council meeting on 15-16 December, in an effort to obtain a legally binding solution" (see EUROPE 11658). In this statement, the prime minister called for clarity with regard to the fact that the association agreement is not a trampoline to EU membership and that it did not confer any rights to such membership. He explained that the agreement did not include collective security for Ukraine as the member states did not have any obligation compelling them to undertake any military cooperation. He also said that the agreement did not confer Ukrainian workers with any rights to access the EU labour market, and that there is no obligation to provide financial assistance to Ukraine. The rule of law, in particular, as well as the fight against corruption as a central factor in the association agreement, should also be mentioned, he said. A European source told EUROPE that they were looking at what "legally binding" really meant.
Addressing the press, Schinas pointed out that the aim was for the 28 member states to ratify the agreement. The Netherlands is the only country to have signed agreement but not to have ratified it yet. Ukraine has also ratified this association agreement. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)