Posted on 06/01/2005 12:16:19 PM PDT by LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget
Dutch voters have decisively turned against the European constitution in their national referendum, according to exit polls.
Their vote comes just days after France plunged Europe into months of constitutional turmoil by becoming the first country to reject the new treaty.
Some 63 per cent of voters in the Netherlands were said to be opposed to the constitution, according to the polls, with the Yes campaign garnering the support of just 37 per cent.
Turnout was also set to be high at around 62 per cent - leaving the Dutch government with no option but to abide by the public's verdict.
Ministers had earlier suggested that a turnout of below 30 per cent would not have been considered binding.
They are now officially the Knights who say 'NEE'.
When will EU learn thuggery does not work?
Whilst the French are the knights "who until just recently said Nee!"
They aren't as stupid as I thought.
http://www.euobserver.com/?sid=9&aid=19220
Dutch say strong No to EU Constitution
01.06.2005 - 21:10 CET | By Mark Beunderman
The Netherlands has rejected the EU constitution, with 63 percent of the Dutch voting against the text and 37 in favour, exit polls show.
An exit poll on the result of today's referendum on the EU charter was released at 21.00 CET by Interview/NSS for Dutch public television.
The poll showed turnout to be at 62 percent, far above the 30 percent threshold necessary for the referendum to be valid.
Polls closed today at 21.00 and the first official results are expected to emerge at 22.00.
The percentage of Dutch "No" votes lies even higher than polls had predicted yesterday (around 60 percent).
The Dutch referendum is non-binding, meaning that the Dutch parliament has the final say on ratification of the EU Charter.
But the parliament, which initiated the referendum, has repeatedly said it would adopt the result of the poll if turnout were higher than 30 percent.
The Dutch want less "Brussels"
Two pollsters yesterday (31 May) already released analyses of the reasons of the Dutch "No".
They both found that the rejection of the EU constitution was primarily based on general uneasiness with the EU.
A TNS/NIPO survey for RTL television found that "the Dutch are predominantly afraid that the Netherlands will lose its identity in Europe and that the Netherlands will not maintain its influence in the European Union."
The polling company went on to state that the Dutch think that "European unification goes too quickly".
TNS/NIPO noted that "remarkably", sideline issues like Turkish EU accession, the Euro, and discontent with the Dutch government - finally did not constitute the main arguments for voters turning their backs on the Constitution.
Election researcher Maurice de Hond found that 78 percent of the Dutch think that "Brussels should have less of a say on issues close to citizens."
Seventy-three percent of respondents said that the EU should be "much more democratic".
Strikingly, according to Mr de Hond's poll, less than half backed the idea of a common EU foreign policy.
Forty-five percent of respondents agreed that "there should be one approach to foreign policy in the EU, not seperate approaches of every single country."
Meanwhile, 30 percent of the Dutch still want the Dutch guilder back, according to Mr De Hond.
EXCELLENT!!!! I am so happy to see the EU go down in flames. I'm going to have pour a brew right over the ashes.
French/Dutch voters find EU, "Pee Yee"
I'll have a Warsteiner, bitte........
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4601439.stm
Beep has it up too.
This is a great day for freedom my friends! No United States of Europe to nip at our back as we confront our real enemies.
No EUSSR even though - All of the politicians, All of the newspapers, and Most of the city dwellers were for it. Sounds like our Dims.
Dutch voters deliver second blow to EU: Women, children, and minorities hardest hit
I bet they make them vote until they get it right. (or left I mean)
I am from Holland, isnt that weird!
Sigh . .. that is what I expect. The poor voters will be hammered in the left wing media with the message that they are stupid -- every show from the news to whatever their versions are Oprah and Saturday Night Live.
Europe is stuned! So is their Beeber!
Excellent summation. I think we need you to go over there and explain it to the Spanish and the Italians.
The EU movement started decades ago, to reduce trade barriers, ease border crossings for people and goods, (tarrifs, etc.).
The scope has grown to include common currency, common government policies, common foreign policy, and a huge self-serving bureacracy.
Maybe the citizens would agree to the thing, if it went back to the simple start.
At the core, I expect the people of the 25 countries, want to keep national identity. And they see little benefit from the ever more powerful union.
applause!
When it pours it rains
Excellent!
E-E-E-E-W-W-W-W-W-W!
United States of Europe my butt. Ha Ha Ha Ha.
The bigger the government gets, the less control the people have - it gets away from them and before you know it, people in Poland (or wherever) are making decisions for people in France. Most government should be small and local - that's the only way to keep it effective, under control and reasonably priced.
Which country is next to vote? Or will they all run from the voters?
Leni
non-binding referendum.
HOLDING A REFERENDUM - 10 countries
Spain - 20 February 2005
France - 29 May 2005
Netherlands - 1 June 2005
Luxembourg - 10 July 2005
Denmark - 27 September 2005
From http://www.euobserver.com/?sid=231&aid=13266
The tower of babel crumbles! How sweet it is!!!!!!!!
Now we can trade with England Ireland and Italy because they won't have to deal with the socialist frogs and lazy germans.
How do things look in Luxembourg and Denmark? Anyone know? I'd like to see even more nails for this coffin!
Too bad they don't have some a "judiciary" to help them get this stuff in the back door the way we do over here.
This is just not how things are done in Europe!
BTW, ever think that if you had a shorter screen name, you'd get more pings and Freepmail..(g)
I dunno. The reason the French turned it down is that it wasn't socialistic enough for their tastes.
I think there's a lot of stupidity yet to be played out in Europe's future.
Nearly half of Danish voters still undecided on EU constitution 14/03/2005
Nearly half of all Danish voters are still uncertain how they will vote in the country's September referendum on the EU constitution, an opinion poll published Monday showed.
Of voters questioned in a Ramboell Management poll for Jyllands-Posten newspaper, 46 percent said they had not decided which way to vote, while 33 percent said they would vote for and 21 said they were against.
Some 52 percent of women said they were still undecided, against 39 percent of men.
The poll was carried out between March 7 and 10 among 996 people over 17 years of age.
"It is completely impossible to predict the outcome of the poll because many Danes will decide how to vote at the last minute," said Lars Bille, a political scientist at Copenhagen university.
The poll showed that 62 percent of those questioned said they were not well informed about the content of the proposed treaty.
A large majority of parties represented in the Danish parliament recommends a yes-vote in the September 27 referendum, with just the extreme right-wing Danish People's Party and the formerly communist Unity party rejecting the constitution.
http://www.eubusiness.com/afp/050314133036.yavogo8y
Make sure you process it, first.
Consensual government is one of the central ideas of European culture going all the way back to the ancient Greeks. Any yet how many times in its history has Europe rejected this idea and opted instead for feudal, monarchical, or dictatorial forms of government?
It takes considerable mental effort and courage for a people to think through its cultural contraditions and arrive at a reasonable decision how they want to govern themselves. And at times this may happen by gut reaction. By whatever means the French and Dutch have come to vote against the EU constitution, I think it is clear that integration will not go forward without democratic reforms. In this regard, the Europeans are starting to reaffirm the better side of their traditions.
It has been very disappointing over the past few years seeing Europeans hoist the flag of anti-Americanism because they lacked the honesty to look within at their own self-inflicted failings. Let us hope that this new-found maturity is not temporary but will guide their future decisions as they reform their governments and economies.
The last Standard Eurobarometer from December 200419reveals a large support of the Luxemburg people for the membership of their country to EU. The country is clearly situated at the head of all member states. The percentage of residents of the Grand Duchy that does not approve the membership of their country to EU is very low (4%) when the European average is 13%. More that two third of them estimated that their country benefited from the membership of EU, opinion shared by only the half of the citizens at the European level. For 61% of the national citizens, the European Union evoke a very positive image or rather positive, opinion shared with 50% of the European citizens. With that rate, the Luxemburg is situated among the first places after Ireland, Italy, Spain and Slovenia. According to that survey, 77% of the citizen’s support the European Constitution, 14% does not support it and 9% doesn’t know. That results are very high. The country is situated at the fourth place after Belgium, Slovenia and Germany. The European average for that support is 68%. 17Proposition for revision of the article 9, 51.7, 52 and 53 of the Constitution, deposited on the 26thof January2005 by Felix Braz. 18Jean Yves Henckes, representative of the party in the Parliament, 22t February 2005. Personal communication with the author. 19Eurobarometre Standard 62, « L’opinion publique dans l’Union européenne », Commission européenne, December 2004. 8
http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache:wUOSfbQkfF4J:www.unizar.es/euroconstitucion/library/working%2520papers/Rigo,%2520A._2005%2520Luxemburg.pdf+luxemburg+EU+referendum+polling+data&hl=en#8
BOOM!
I knew because the French were involved, it would never happen!
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