Dutch cabinet rules out EU vote

The Dutch unambiguously rejected the constitution in 2005

The Dutch cabinet has decided against holding a referendum on the EU's new Reform Treaty, amid fears the public would reject it at the polls.

Voters in the Netherlands and France rejected the treaty's predecessor - a proposed European constitution - two years ago, plunging the EU into crisis.

Reports had indicated the Dutch public would vote against the new treaty too.

The decision on a referendum now goes before the Dutch parliament, where many MPs are said to favour a public vote.

The 2005 referendum, effectively scuppering the proposed constitution, was held at the initiative of parliament, rather than the government.

The lower house of parliament is believed to have a majority that favours a referendum, while the upper house is against the idea.

Labour split

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, of the Christian Democrat party, said the new treaty did not propose constitutional changes and therefore did not require a referendum.

There are rumours that after a decent interval we'll find out that some policies the Dutch Labour Party didn't like have been dropped BBC Europe editor Mark Mardell Mark Mardell's Euroblog Q&A: Dutch referendum

"This is a normal change of treaty and only needs a normal procedure to approve it," he said.

He said on Friday that the entire cabinet had backed the decision against holding a referendum.

Two of the three parties in the Dutch governing coalition had opposed a referendum on the new treaty, but a third, the Labour Party, was split over the issue.

Although the Labour party supports the EU Reform Treaty, a faction within it has argued that the views of the public must be taken into account before the document is adopted.

BBC Europe editor Mark Mardell says it is expected that some policies unpopular with the Labour Party will soon be dropped, in return for Labour ministers having given their consent to the decision against holding a referendum.

A Dutch decision in favour of holding a referendum on the EU Reform Treaty would have put fresh pressure on the British and Danish governments to do the same in their countries.

Both London and Copenhagen have been eager to avoid plebiscites on the new EU Reform Treaty.