The far-left Socialist Party in turn argued that the agreement hurts both Ukrainian and Dutch citizens. The socialists claim that the agreement divides the Ukrainian population in two camps, and is therefore a driving force of the war in the country. Future introduction of European market rules in Ukraine would lead to the collapse of the country’s uncompetitive industry, after which destitute workers will migrate as cheap labour to Western Europe, while Dutch taxpayers will have to underwrite loans to the insolvent Kiev government.
Another prominent theme in the campaign was the possibility of future Ukrainian EU-membership, something that is unpopular among Dutch politicians of every stripe. Tellingly, the yes-camp waged a campaign not about a common European future shared with the people on Maidan Square, but about the need to have stable countries adjacent to Europe’s outer border. The no-camp nevertheless claimed that the agreement is a stepping-stone towards Ukrainian EU-membership. Prime-minister Mark Rutte tried hard to debunk this claim, but suffered from a lack of credibility. In the 2012 election campaign he promised not to send any additional money to Greece. Last summer the Dutch government nevertheless approved a new bailout package for Athens.
The Dutch cabinet has been accused of waging a lacklustre and muted yes-campaign. To be fair, this was motivated by understandable concerns. The government did not want to turn the referendum into a popularity contest for Rutte or his social-democratic coalition partner. Both perform poorly in opinion polls.