¡¡¡¡Slow economic growth in the Netherlands is seen as a key reason for Wednesday's massive rejection of the European Union constitution£¬ with ¡°no¡± voters listing gripes such as the high value of the euro£¬ the cost of EU membership and possible job losses to immigrant labour. Last year the Dutch center-right government£¬ led by the Christian Democrat prime minister£¬ Jan Peter Balkenende£¬ announced extremely unpopular austerity measures to raise tax revenues and cut spending to improve public finances.
¡¡¡¡At a time when the Dutch are asked to tighten their belts£¬ the fact that the country has gone from being a net receiver from its membership in the EU to becoming the biggest net contributor is not sitting well with many voters.
¡¡¡¡¡°The most important reason for voters to reject the EU's constitution treaty was the belief that the Netherlands pays way too much for EU membership£¬¡± progressive Christian newspaper Trouw said in an analysis Thursday.
¡¡¡¡Some 62 percent of ¡°no¡± voters named the high Dutch contribution to the EU budget as a reason to reject the treaty£¬ according to a poll conducted Wednesday.
¡¡¡¡Even though the Dutch government won praise in Brussels for wrestling down its deficit to comply with EU budget rules£¬ voters could not stomach that France and Germany had flaunted those very same rules and got away with it when EU members earlier this year agreed to water down their 1997 Stability and Growth Pact.
¡¡¡¡¡°People do not want to pay money to Europe that we could put to better use in the Netherlands for care of the elderly or security measures£¬ for instance£¬¡± far-right member of parliament Geert Wilders£¬ a prominent ¡°no¡± campaigner£¬ summed up the mood Thursday in a parliamentary debat.
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