Kees Verhoeven

19.02.2016 12:06

Dutch MP for D66 which initiated “Yes-campaign” on the referendum about the Association Agreement

Yes-vote chances at the referendum are 50/50 right now

Mr. Verhoeven, please, tell our readers a little more about the campaign. How big is it going to be? Will you be campaigning in all major cities of the Netherlands? How long is it going to last?

The campaign is based on three elements. First, we are trying to be in the media, take part in the discussions on TV and radio, join debates in town halls and other public places. We go there and explain, why we are supporting the Agreement. Also, the campaign will be on the streets as much as possible in 20 cities of the Netherlands during the last three weeks before the referendum. Besides, we will be campaigning online. We have created a website where everyone interested can find a lot of information about the Agreement and about Ukraine. We have made small films featuring people from Ukraine and from the Netherlands, who have business in Ukraine. So, we are trying to be present where it is possible to share information about the Agreement.

What is your assessment of the current moods in the Dutch society about the referendum?

It started very negatively. At the beginning, when the initiative about the referendum was announced, there was very negative attitude towards the European Union. Not so much towards Ukraine, but very much towards the EU. There was a feeling that the EU is doing more and more things without actually listening to people.

Now, there is more information about the Agreement and about the fact that it is quite OK to have such an agreement. This point of view is gradually getting more dominant. So, the mood is changing into a more positive feeling. It is still 40 % pro versus 60 % against the Agreement. But the portion of people, who are going to vote “Yes” has increased during the last weeks.

Besides, the discussion has become more reasonable. It is now less about emotions and more about the Agreement as it is. Hence, people tend to be more positive then a few months ago.

What kind of arguments are you going to be using to promote yes-vote among those, who are still undecided, or, perhaps, those, who are currently no-voters?

First of all we are trying to convince everybody to just go and vote. The referendum will be considered valid, if more than 30% of voters are going to come and vote. And we need more “Yes-voters”. The thing is that “No-voters” have decided already. But there are still a lot of people, who are undecided.

Of course, when we are telling about the Agreement, we are talking about the most important part of it, the trade part. We are saying that it is good for the Netherlands, Ukraine and Europe to have more opportunities for a better trade.

Also, the Agreement is good for fighting corruption and protecting democracy and human rights in Ukraine. Besides, it is about the geopolitical situation. We are saying that the country that has stable situation and cooperates with Europe is better than the country that is divided under the Putin’s influence. We are saying that we want to have the possibility to work together with Ukraine. And that there will be a stabile country at Europe’s borders.

Some experts say that up until recently, little had been known in the Netherlands about Ukraine and the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. A number of campaigns have now started in the Netherlands about the referendum, such as the one you have, and the issue is high on the agenda mass media. Have you noticed any increase in the knowledge about Ukraine and the Agreement, and thus, any change of attitude of the public?

I still see that a lot of people here in the Netherlands think of Ukraine as a far-away country that is quite corrupt and incompatible with Europe. For example, many of them have no idea that Kyiv is a quite beautiful city and many young people of a modern lifestyle live there. I think this can be changed, if we present people from Ukraine to the Dutch, let Ukrainians tell more about their lives.

Also, we have a lot of discussions about the Agreement itself. A lot of people think that this Agreement is about Ukraine’s membership in the EU. Which is not about that. In the beginning, when people were speaking about the Agreement they

were saying that they do not want Ukraine to become a member of the EU. But now, there is understanding that the Agreement is not about that. In the last few months, the discussion has been more and more about what the Agreement really is and people do understand better now, what it is about.

Has your party conducted any studies or opinion polls as to how many yes-voters are there?

Yes, we did some research. And there are two interesting things. The first one is that there are many still undecided people out there. About 30 % of them actually. We think that presents a very good opportunity of achieving the “Yes-results”. If we convince those undecided people, we eventually will win this referendum.

The second thing is that research showed that the undecided can be convinced, if they get useful information. So, if we make clear in the next weeks, what this all is about, and share more information about Ukraine and about the Agreement, it is going to be possible to convince those people.

According to your estimates, what are the chances of the yes-result?

I think it is 50/50 right now. As I have said, there are a lot of people who are still undecided. So it is a flip of a coin. Two months ago, everybody were saying that it would be “no” for sure and that “yes-campaign” has no chances at all. But now, the tides are turning. And I do believe it is possible to get the “yes-results”.

What was the reason that your party has decided to launch this campaign?

In 2014, the Dutch parliament voted on the Agreement and 120 out of 150 MPs said “Yes” to it. Our party voted “Yes” too. At the same time, our party was the initiator of the consultative referendum law. We did not initiate this specific referendum of course, but we were in favor of the referendum law as it is. So we are pro-referendum and pro-Agreement. That is why when we got the situation that the referendum would be about the Agreement, we decided that we should campaign, we should not hide, and we need to explain to the Dutch people why had we voted “yes” in the parliament and why do we want them to vote “Yes” on the referendum.

We know your party supports the Agreement. But what is your party's position as to what the Government of the Netherlands should do with this consultative referendum result, especially if the result is going to be “no”?

That is something that the Prime Minister will have to decide on. Some parties in the Netherlands have already said that the Government has to follow the referendum result. But we would not like to say anything now. We need to campaign first, do everything to make the result “Yes”, and then, if we see that it is still going to be “No”, then on the 7th of April we will decide how we will handle that fact.

Maryna Gonta, The Hague.

Photo from : www.flickr.com