If the boorishness and ignorance of the Brexit campaign has left you with the world-weary feeling of someone who has seen it all, then cast your gaze over to the Netherlands where imperilling your own country’s future is not racy enough a proposition. Instead, this week the Dutch go to the polls in the name of Euroscepticism with the frisson of helping decide the future of a much poorer, weaker nation.
Thanks to a new referendum law which came into force last year, the Dutch will vote on whether to accept or reject the European Union-Ukraine Association Agreement, already ratified by every other EU state.
The history behind this is neither long nor complicated. In 2013 Vladimir Putin, through the application of threats and hard cash, persuaded Viktor Yanukovych, then the president of Ukraine, to scrap an association agreement with the EU. Ukrainians, desperate to escape Kremlin gangsterism and enjoy normal statehood as we understand it, took to the streets in Kyiv around Maidan in demonstrations that became known as Euromaidan. Facing sniper fire, around 100 protesters died not only for European values but for notions we regard as mundane; government transparency, free media, enforceable contracts. The Russian annexation of Crimea and invasion of eastern Ukraine left Moscow facing western sanctions and the EU Association Agreement, under new president Petro Poroshenko, was revived.
If you are trying to imagine something more straightforward and appropriate than to hastily ratify such an agreement for which people have died, then remember too that 196 Dutch citizens were also killed by a Russian Buk missile over eastern Ukraine.
However, such basic decency is not a hallmark of petty nationalists either side of the Channel, and the chance to clobber the EU is too tantalising even if the victim will be a war-torn country and the beneficiary a man with both Ukrainian and Dutch loss of life to answer for. In the Netherlands, the campaign for a ‘Nee’ vote boasts world-renowned demagogue Geert Wilders who says Russian aggression is Europe’s fault. Throwing himself into the fray too is Nigel Farage who describes Putin as the man he most admires: ‘I’ve got everything crossed, because if you win your referendum, my goodness me, that’ll help in Britain too’.
He might be right. On 6 April, Dutch voters may well indulge themselves in the luxury of blowing a raspberry at the EU in a vote they wrongly perceive as consequence-free. The real consequences will be felt by some of the poorest people in Europe who have forgotten more about hardship than we will ever know. Sadly, for too many people in today’s Europe that proposition will sound absolutely fine and dandy.
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Jamie Milne is founder of Labour Friends of Ukraine. He tweets @j_m_milne
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The situation in which Labour Supporters find themselves regarding ambivalence to the EU is the total absence of a fully (or indeed any) worked out criticism of the EU. Time and time again what we hear (usually from MEPs) is that we know the EU is not perfect! (how profound is that ?)…… but …. er.. what should we say now?
The Labour position on reform of the EU is so undeveloped we should not be surprised that people just ignore what Labour has say. Aside from concerns about the total absence of any preparations for dealing with the consequences of immigration, this is precisely what many Labour supporters, will likely do. It has been one of the most disappointing areas of policy formation that I can think we have ever had.
The current Ukrainian President and Prime Minister are now far less popular than their predecessors, before the EU and US supported coup: Petro Poroshenko has 25% support and 70% disapproval ratings while the Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk can muster only 12% support with an 80% disapproval rating!
http://www.ukrweekly.com/uwwp/poroshenko-has-25-support-70-disapproval-poll-reveals/
Jamie Milne is either exceedingly naive or perhaps extremely partial in his analysis:
1. The US spent over $5bn sponsoring organisations hostile to the former government and their puppet and now Prime Minister was a recipient of this funding, via his ‘charitable Foundation’, who Chatham House also supported.
2. The EU Trade deal was far worse for Ukraine, at least in the short to mid-term, than the alternative being offered by Russia. Ukraine’s subsequent decline and descent towards bankruptcy has only served to validate this point.
3. The investigation into the shooting in the Maidan has apparently been kicked into the long grass, after the evidence emerged – including but not confined to the the leaked phone call phone call to Baroness Catherine Aston. There are many current UK, US and European politicians who would be severely embarrassed if it were proven, beyond reasonable doubt, that some, perhaps the majority, of these were orchestrated by people now elected and serving in the Rada.
However, don’t let pesky or inconvenient facts get in the way of your rant.
Though no fan of Putin in the Crimea or Ukraine your characterisation of Maidan as “uncomplicated” appears to ignore a number of features of the movement and subsequent change of government. For example, the involvement of the ‘ultras’ and the violence by them against those from the left who became involved in the movement or the subsequent anti left laws and policies enacted under an anti communist banner.
Though I am not of the view this justifies the Dutch nationalists position, your characterisation was to simplistic to pass without comment.
Hip, hip, hurray! What a huge blow the Dutch people have delivered to the EU and you “progressives”! 😀