Dutch Voters Head to Polls on Key EU-Ukraine Deal

Dutch voters go to the polls Wednesday to decide whether to support a key EU deal with Ukraine in a referendum triggered by grassroots eurosceptic groups and seen as a yardstick on ties with Brussels. 
Polling stations across the country open at 0530 GMT for the non-binding popular vote on whether the Dutch approve closer ties with Kiev, an outcome sure to be closely watched by both the West and Moscow. 
Opinion polls on the eve of the vote on the EU's so-called Association Agreement with Ukraine, which mainly bolsters trade, showed the "No" vote having the slight edge, the (AFP) reported. 
"Opinions are greatly divided over the Ukraine agreement and at the same time, there's a large group that doesn't have an opinion," an Ipsos opinion poll said Tuesday. 
While some 37 percent polled over recent days said they would vote against the deal, around 33 percent were in favour and the rest remained undecided. 
The vote is also being anxiously watched in Ukraine, which has moved to knit closer ties with the West since the 2014 ouster of a Moscow-backed president. 
The referendum's eurosceptic Dutch organisers have admitted the vote is essentially not about Ukraine, but a handy hook to push a broader anti-EU agenda and "give citizens more say in Brussels". 
It was triggered after the organisers used new Dutch legislation that allows citizens to voice opinions on legislative decisions provided they garner enough signatures for their cause. 
The Netherlands is now the only country in the 28-nation EU still to ratify the accord and the deal has been given the thumbs up by both the upper and lower houses of the Dutch parliament.

Source: QNA