Centrum Stosunków Międzynarodowych - 18 February 2016: Government strategy leaked amidst campaign on Dutch referendum on EU-Ukraine Association Agreement

On 18 February 2016, Dutch media organisation RTL4 leaked an official strategy of the Dutch government with regards to how they should campaign for a ''yes'' in order to convince the electorate to vote in favour of the Association Agreement of the EU with Ukraine, during the referendum on the agreement which will be held on 6 April 2016. Government officials were advised to focus on the importance of the democratic aspect of the vote. Furthermore they had to highlight economic benefits while refraining from mentioning Russia and speaking of security. They were also suggested to make clear the referendum is not about EU membership of Ukraine, which the Dutch government opposes. The government expected a positive vote, and said it would discuss with the parliament in case of a negative vote.

The campaign for the referendum has kicked off about a month ago and several organizations have received funds to campaign either in favour or against the agreement. Polls indicate a majority of the Dutch people will vote against the agreement.

The Netherlands voted down the constitutional treaty on the EU before in 2005. The official strategy seeks to prevent such a scenario to repeat again, by not campaigning to actively, as it could turn the referendum in a vote on whether they support the government or not.