A referendum on the adoption of a single European constitution has begun in the Netherlands. According to sociological surveys, at least 60% of the Dutch are ready to say “no” to the basic law of Europe. About 12 million voters must express their views on the single treaty.

Most residents of the kingdom are dissatisfied with rising oil prices in the EU, the possible accession of Turkey to the European Union, as well as the inevitable abolition if the constitution is adopted of two gains of Dutch democracy - the legalization of marijuana and officially permitted euthanasia.

The day before, Prime Minister of the Netherlands Jan Peter Balkenende addressed the citizens of the country for the last time before the referendum with a recommendation to “not pay attention to any opinion polls” and vote as they wish, AP reports.

The voting results will be sent to the Dutch parliament, and it will be the parliament that will make the final decision. Preliminary voting results will be known this evening, and the official results will be announced on June 6.

Let us remind you that on May 29 this year. The French rejected the draft EU constitution in a general referendum. One of the reasons for this decision was the fear of job cuts for the indigenous population due to a possible invasion of France by emigrants from Turkey and other new members of the European Union from the former socialist camp and the post-Soviet space.

After the voting results became known, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU issued a joint statement in which they expressed regret about this decision. European leaders said the ratification process will continue anyway.

For the EU constitution to come into force, it must be ratified by all EU member states. To date, only nine states have ratified the document. Thus, France’s refusal to accept the EU Constitution already means the actual failure of this project.

Let us note that due to France’s failure to accept the EU Constitution, the euro exchange rate has fallen significantly. If another country, the Netherlands, also votes against the Constitution, this could cause a collapse of the European currency.

The Netherlands may not accept the EU Constitution