Netherlands Ukraine trade deal snub poses problems for EU

Dutch voters on Thursday rejected an EU partnership deal that would axe trade barriers with Ukraine, in an embarrassing result for the Netherlands government.

In a referendum where only 32.2% of the electorate turned out, 61.1% of those who voted rejected the deal compared with 38.1% in favour. The result just squeaked past the 30% turnout law to be valid under Netherlands law, but is not binding.

However, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the government, which also currently holds the rotating EU presidency, could not ignore the result.

"It's clear that 'No' have won by an overwhelming margin, the question is only if turnout is sufficient," Rutte said.

"If the turnout is above 30% with such a large margin of victory for the 'No' camp, then my sense is that ratification can't simply go ahead," Rutte added.

The EU now faces further agony over the issue as, as the Dutch parliament approved the deal last year and the other 27 EU member states have already ratified it.

In Kiev, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko insisted his country would "continue our movement towards the EU".

A foreign ministry official told the BBC that the result was disappointing, adding that Dutch eurosceptics could not take Ukraine hostage to express dissatisfaction with the EU.

The vote also has big implications for Britain, which is holding its own referendum in June on its membership of the European Union. UK eurosceptics will see the vote as a repudiation of the EU, even though the Dutch vote was about external relations with a country outside the bloc.