EU relief as Dutch say no to treaty vote

The Netherlands: The Dutch government yesterday decided not to hold a referendum on the forthcoming EU treaty following legal…

The Netherlands:The Dutch government yesterday decided not to hold a referendum on the forthcoming EU treaty following legal advice that it does not contain constitutional elements.

The decision comes two years after the Dutch delivered a shock "no" vote to the original European constitution, prompting deep EU political soul-searching.

Making the keenly-awaited announcement, Dutch prime minister Jan-Peter Balkenende said that a new referendum was "not necessary" and that the new Reform Treaty - as it is known - was "an ordinary amending treaty" and ratification by parliament would be enough.

His case for not having a referendum was strongly boosted last week when a council of state report found that there was no legal requirement for a public poll.

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The new treaty takes on most features of the old constitution, but without the overtly statehood-like parts - such as enshrining the flag, anthem and motto in the text.

Mr Balkenende fought hard during the June negotiations to keep the new text as unassuming-looking as possible to make it easier to sell the treaty on the domestic stage.

Two changes which he managed to get through were a clearer delimitation of powers between member-states and the Union and tougher criteria for enlargement - thought to be among the main reasons why Dutch voters rejected the constitution in June 2005.

Although many in Brussels will be breathing a sigh of relief over yesterday's decision, it may not be the end of the story.

Dutch opposition MPs could still push through an own-initiative referendum. A similar move, also against Mr Balkenende's wishes, resulted in the 2005 "no" vote.

So far, Ireland is the only EU member which will definitely have a referendum on the Reform Treaty, expected to be finalised at the end of this year.

The UK is coming under strong internal pressure to have one while similarly eurosceptic Denmark remains undecided.