• published: 08 Apr 2016
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RESENDING WITH SCRIPT United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) leader, Nigel Farage, says a "no" vote to the EU in the Netherlands referendum would show Britain euroscepticism is also happening elsewhere. SHOWS: VOLENDAM, THE NETHERLANDS (APRIL 4, 2016) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) The leader of Britain's UK Independence Party (UKIP) said on Monday (April 4) that a Dutch vote against an EU treaty with Ukraine would give a boost to the Brexit camp less than three months from a British referendum on quitting the 28-nation bloc. Voters in the Netherlands go to the polls on Wednesday in a referendum that is formally about the treaty, but that activists present as an opportunity to cast a vote against European integration. "I can't tell you to vote yes or no. I mean if you like being governed by unelected old men in Brussels, you must vote yes, clearly. But if you do vote no, do recognize that it is a big symbolic moment because the British referendum follows in less than eighty days and a no vote here would be taken by many back in the UK, as a sign that actually this growth of euroscepticism isn't just in our country, it's happening elsewhere," he said. Pro-EU supporters gathered in Amsterdam on Sunday to rally against a possible 'Nexit' due to be held on April 6. A poll by Maurice De Hond on Sunday forecast that 66 percent of people certain to vote, would back 'No' with only 25 percent in favour, with turnout likely to be decisive in shaping the final result. Pollsters TNS Nipo have forecast turnout of 32 percent, just above the 30 percent threshold that is needed for the referendum to be valid. The government, which supports a "yes" vote, fears it could turn into a protest vote like in 2005, when a majority of the Dutch electorate broke from a pro-European tradition and rejected the EU constitution. "Eleven years ago, people in this country expressed their opinion, in a referendum on the European Constitution and effectively they were ignored. And here's an opportunity to say that you don't want your government signing up to EU enlargement or treaties or whatever it is, without you being consulted in the future. So this is a sort of demand that the way things are done changes," Farage said. The Dutch vote was triggered after a satirical website collected enough signatures to call a referendum on the treaty, a broad trade, political and defence agreement which grants Ukraine access to EU markets in exchange for ramped up reform efforts in the troubled former Soviet republic. Dutch politicians have warned that a rejection of the treaty would hand a symbolic victory to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who backs separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine who are widely blamed in the Netherlands for the downing of an airliner in 2014 with the loss of almost 200 Dutch lives. "In theory, it's about the European Union enlarging and getting bigger and any pretence from the government this is purely a trade treaty is clearly arrant nonsense, when we've had big European leaders for a decade urging that Ukraine joins the European Union and indeed part of this package would be visa-free access for people from the Ukraine by the end of 2016. So ostensibly, it's about the Ukrainian deal, actually it'll be taken as a bigger opportunity for people to say whether they're happy or unhappy with this country's place inside a European Union, which is centralizing at a very rapid pace indeed," Farage said. Many Ukrainian politicians feel their country deserves the treaty and are keen to show they have made progress in aligning their country with EU standards since the 2014 uprising that toppled pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovich. An EU decision to push on with the treaty despite a "no vote", whether the government respects it or not, could be damaging for the EU and highlight EU problems ahead of the British vote, though many Ukrainian politicians feel their country deserves the treaty and are keen to show they have made progress in aligning their country with EU standards since the 2014 uprising that toppled pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovich. In Britain, polls suggest that younger people overwhelmingly back continued EU membership, in sharp contrast to the more eurosceptical over-55s - a contrast that Farage attributed to the influence of university education. "You know, whether it's David Cameron or whether it's Carwyn Jones, the First Minister of Wales, the fact is we no longer are in control of our steel industry, our fishing industry, our financial services industry. And you know as this Brexit debate goes on for the next 80 days and people like me will say 'we'd be better off outside' and people like M. Cameron will say 'we're better off inside', ultimately what this referendum is really all about is: should we be in control?" he said.