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Meanwhile in the EU, specifically in The Netherlands, we had a referendum about the Ukraine EU assoc treaty in 2016. 60% of the voters voted against. Guess wh

Meanwhile in the EU, specifically in The Netherlands, we had a referendum about the Ukraine EU assoc treaty in 2016. 60% of the voters voted against. Guess what happened? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Dutch_Ukraine%E2%80%93European_Union_Association_Agreement_referendum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Dutch_Ukraine%E2%80%93Eur...

quonn 5y ago
So a single country out of 28 couldn‘t block it. Good. And an addendum was added to address the concerns. And the association treaty is merely a preparation, so that the country that wants to become a member can start to fulfill the requirements.
- the-dude 5y ago
  You sound like our Prime Minister. I am just pointing out wether your corrupt regime is associated with NATO or not, a referendum is not worth much if anything at all.
  - notapenny 5y ago
    It was advisory and non-binding. I for one am happy that we get to express our opinions in this way, but the communication around it could've been better. At the time I recall also not knowing that it was non-binding. Calling it a referendum probably set incorrect expectations.
- raxxorrax 5y ago
  It basically spawned a civil war though.
secondcoming 5y ago
What happened? Would Ukraine being a member of the EU prevented Russia from attacking, or would it have accelerated it?
- the-dude 5y ago
  The referendum was ignored, that is what happened.
  - meepmorp 5y ago
    It was an advisory referendum, according to the Wikipedia article you linked to.
SassyThrowaway 5y ago
I am not Dutch (much like many people here), so your rhetoric question is difficult for me to understand. What happened? What did you expect to happen? What was the purpose of that referendum in the Netherlands in the first place? Was it a binding one? UPD. And, importantly, why is it all relevant to the topic?
wernerb 5y ago
I voted with a blank vote to make a point against "advisory" referendum. It in my eyes weakens the system where I vote on parties to make informed decisions on behalf of me.

quonn 5y ago

So a single country out of 28 couldn‘t block it. Good. And an addendum was added to address the concerns. And the association treaty is merely a preparation, so that the country that wants to become a member can start to fulfill the requirements.

the-dude 5y ago
You sound like our Prime Minister. I am just pointing out wether your corrupt regime is associated with NATO or not, a referendum is not worth much if anything at all.
- notapenny 5y ago
  It was advisory and non-binding. I for one am happy that we get to express our opinions in this way, but the communication around it could've been better. At the time I recall also not knowing that it was non-binding. Calling it a referendum probably set incorrect expectations.
raxxorrax 5y ago
It basically spawned a civil war though.

secondcoming 5y ago

What happened? Would Ukraine being a member of the EU prevented Russia from attacking, or would it have accelerated it?

the-dude 5y ago
The referendum was ignored, that is what happened.
- meepmorp 5y ago
  It was an advisory referendum, according to the Wikipedia article you linked to.

SassyThrowaway 5y ago

I am not Dutch (much like many people here), so your rhetoric question is difficult for me to understand. What happened? What did you expect to happen? What was the purpose of that referendum in the Netherlands in the first place? Was it a binding one? UPD. And, importantly, why is it all relevant to the topic?

wernerb 5y ago

I voted with a blank vote to make a point against "advisory" referendum. It in my eyes weakens the system where I vote on parties to make informed decisions on behalf of me.