Netherlands referendum on the Constitution of the European Union (2005)

National referenda on European Constitution
Czech	Canceled
Denmark	Moved
France	No (55% of 69%)
Ireland	Canceled
Luxembourg	Yes (57% of 88%)
Netherlands	No (62% of 63%)
Poland	Moved
Portugal	Moved
Spain	Yes (77% of 42%)
Great Britain	Moved
Ratification

The Netherlands Constitutional Referendum of the European Union is a consultative referendum held on June 1, 2005 to determine whether the Netherlands should ratify the proposed EU Constitution . The referendum was the first in more than 200 years of the history of the Netherlands (the previous one took place in 1801 ) and did not oblige the government, i.e., even though the Constitution was rejected by the majority of voters, it could be ratified by the General States of the country. However, the government stated before the vote that it would follow the decision of the people with a turnout of more than 30%. Voting results showed that the Constitution was rejected by 61.6% of voters with a turnout of 63.3%.

The question submitted to the referendum was as follows:

Bent U voor of tegen instemming door Nederland met het verdrag tot vaststelling van een grondwet voor Europa?

(Are you in favor or against the Dutch approval of the treaty establishing the Constitution of Europe?)

The Netherlands referendum was held only 3 days after the French referendum , which rejected the Constitution. The ratification of the Constitution required the approval of all countries of the European Union . In this regard, after France voted against the Constitution, it was believed that the Netherlands referendum lost its meaning. The Za campaign appealed that the rejection of the Constitution by the Netherlands could damage the country's image. On the other hand, the result of the French referendum significantly strengthened the opponents of the Constitution in the Netherlands. It is believed that the double rejection of the Constitution by France and the Netherlands, the founding countries of the European Union, and "killed" the Constitution of Europe. Planned referenda in other countries were either rescheduled or completely canceled. Currently, it is no longer considered as a possible document.