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News item | 21-09-2007
Because the new EU treaty is a regular reform treaty, the normal approval procedure will be followed. The government does not feel that a referendum is an appropriate instrument.
The government will present this position to the two houses of parliament, together with the Council of State's advice. The government asked the Council to give its opinion on the nature of the new treaty.
The Council of State says that the new treaty 'differs fundamentally' from the Constitutional Treaty.
It also says that the Dutch constitution contains comprehensive provisions on the approval of treaties. They do not include a referendum. A non-binding referendum would only be justified on special grounds. The Council lists five criteria in its advisory opinion.
On the basis of these criteria, the government concludes that a referendum is not an appropriate instrument for approving the new treaty.
It sees the new treaty as similar to those of Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice, and like those earlier treaties, it can be approved via the normal procedure. The reform treaty will thus be debated and voted on by parliament.
The government bases its position on what it sees as three decisive arguments.
- The new treaty does not have a constitutional nature: the idea of a single written Constitution has been abandoned, the Charter of Fundamental Rights have not been included and the symbols of European integration have been dropped.
- The government feels that a referendum would not be credible, since one of the two outcomes would confront the government with an impossible task. After two countries had rejected the Constitutional Treaty, the other member states eventually agreed to new negotiations, often against their will. The Netherlands has now achieved what it wanted. It is highly unlikely that other member states would be willing to reopen negotiations yet again.
- The previous referendum showed that, in practice, a non-binding referendum can quickly take on the character of a binding referendum. This happens if the government or parliamentary parties say in advance that they will respect the outcome. A binding referendum is impossible without amending the Constitution.
The government believes it is important for the reform treaty to be approved quickly. It is ready to debate its position with parliament.