Dutch withdrawal from the European Union (colloquially "Nexit", a portmanteau of "Netherlands" and "exit") refers to the hypothesis that the Netherlands might withdraw from the European Union. [1] The most recent opinion poll on the subject, in January 2020, showed a 33% minority favouring withdrawal. [2]
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte called the possibility of a referendum "utterly irresponsible" and dangerous to the country. [1] Political parties that are Hard Eurosceptic or calling for a referendum on European Union membership are the right-wing populist [3] [4] Party for Freedom and Forum for Democracy. [5] [6]
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| Date(s) conducted | Polling Firm | Sample | Remain | Leave | Undecided | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5–9 June 2020 | I&O Research | 1,638 | 75% | 25% | — | 50% |
| 19–24 April 2019 | I&O Research Archived 21 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine | 2,510 | 72% | 16% | 12% | 56% |
| 25–28 March 2019 | EenVandaag | 27,652 | 64% | 29% | 7% | 37% |
| 18–22 January 2019 | I&O Research | 2,510 | 72% | 18% | 10% | 54% |
| 11–13 September 2018 | Ipsos | 1,017 | 55% | 21% | 24% | 34% |
| 6 March – 7 April 2017 | Pew Research | 1,006 | 80% | 18% | 2% | 62% |
| 5–7 July 2016 | EenVandaag | 25,681 | 53% | 39% | 8% | 14% |
| 23 June 2016 | The United Kingdom votes to leave the EU. | |||||
| 10–20 June 2016 | EenVandaag | 27,000 | 45% | 48% | 7% | 3% |
| 27–31 May 2016 | TNS Public Affairs | 981 | 49% | 33% | 18% | 16% |
| 4–7 March 2016 | I&O Research Archived 21 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine | 2,510 | 67% | 22% | 11% | 45% |
A poll in the Netherlands by the Pew Research Center in June 2016, conducted before the British referendum which led to the withdrawal of the UK from the EU, found 51% of the Dutch respondents to have a positive view of the European Union and 46% a negative view. [7] Another poll by peil.nl in the aftermath of the 2016 British referendum found 50% of the respondents to be against a similar referendum in their country, with 46% of those in favour of remaining in the EU compared to 43% overall against remaining. [1]
Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek reform, to those who oppose EU membership and see the EU as unreformable. The opposite of Euroscepticism is known as pro-Europeanism, or European Unionism.
The Socialist Party is a democratic socialist and social democratic political party in the Netherlands. Founded in 1971 as the Communist Party of the Netherlands/Marxist–Leninist, the party has since moderated itself from Marxism–Leninism and Maoism towards democratic socialism and social democracy. The SP has also been described as left-wing populist, far-left and Eurosceptic, and is an advocate of Dutch republicanism.
Geert Wilders is a Dutch politician who has led the Party for Freedom (PVV) since he founded it in 2006. He is also the party's leader in the House of Representatives, having held a parliamentary seat since 1998. In the 2010 formation of the first Rutte cabinet, a minority government of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) – which he left in 2004 – and Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), Wilders actively participated in the negotiations, resulting in a "tolerance agreement" between the PVV and these parties. He withdrew his party's parliamentary support in 2012, citing disagreements with the cabinet over proposed budget cuts. Wilders is best known for his populist, anti-immigration and criticism of Islam and Euroscepticism (EU), and for his relations to the Kremlin. His views have made him a controversial figure in the Netherlands and abroad. Since 2004, he has been protected at all times by armed police.
Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) provides for the possibility of an EU member state leaving the European Union "in accordance with its own constitutional requirements".
Laurence Jeanne Arnoldine Joseph Stassen is an independent Dutch politician and a former freelance television presenter of the regional broadcasting TV Limburg. There she presented the program sponsored Limburg Leeft about residency and life in Limburg.
The Party for Freedom is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in the Netherlands. Since the early 2020s, the party has rapidly grown in popularity, gaining significant support for its anti-immigration positions. After the 2023 general elections, it became the largest party in the House of Representatives.
Brexit was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Following a referendum on 23 June 2016, Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020. The UK is the only sovereign country to have left the EU. The UK had been a member state of the EU or its predecessor, the European Communities (EC), since 1 January 1973. Following Brexit, EU law and the Court of Justice of the European Union no longer have primacy over British laws. The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 retains relevant EU law as domestic law, which the UK can amend or repeal.
Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy was a Eurosceptic and populist political group in the European Parliament. The EFDD group was a continuation for the Eighth European Parliament of the Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) group that existed during the Seventh European Parliament, with significant changes to group membership.
VoorNederland was a Dutch political party. It was previously active in the House of Representatives of the Netherlands as the Group Bontes/Van Klaveren, a parliamentary group founded in April 2014. The parliamentary group was succeeded by a political party in May 2014. After failing to garner win a single seat in the 2017 general election the party disbanded.
Frexit is the hypothetical French withdrawal from the European Union (EU). The term is similar to Brexit, which denotes the UK leaving the EU. The term was mostly used during the campaign leading to the French presidential election of 2017.
Euroscepticism is a minority view in Ireland. Opinion polls held in the country between 2017 and 2022 indicated between 70% and 90% support for continued membership of the European Union (EU), and a 2021 'Eurobarometer' report indicating that 75% of poll respondents had a "positive image of the EU".
Forum for Democracy is a far-right political party in the Netherlands, founded as a think tank by Thierry Baudet and Henk Otten in 2016. The party first participated in elections in the 2017 general election, winning two seats in the House of Representatives.
Wopke Bastiaan Hoekstra is a Dutch politician. He served as second Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the fourth Rutte cabinet between 10 January 2022 and 1 September 2023. Hoekstra previously served as Minister of Finance in the third Rutte cabinet from 2017 to 2022 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) from 2020 to 2023. In 2023, he was nominated to take on the role of Frans Timmermans as EU Commissioner, being responsible for climate action; a petition was started against Hoekstra's nomination due to his past work for Shell and his decisions that backed oil explorations in the Netherlands.
Brexit is the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.
Danish withdrawal from the European Union is the hypothesis that Denmark might leave the European Union (EU). Leaving the EU is officially supported by just two of the political parties represented in the Danish Parliament, with less than 8% of the total seats.
The Farmer–Citizen Movement is an agrarian and right-wing populist political party in the Netherlands. It is headquartered in Deventer, Overijssel. The current party leader is founder Caroline van der Plas, who has led it since its creation in 2019.
A Polish withdrawal from the European Union, or Polexit, is the name given to a hypothetical Polish withdrawal from the European Union. The term was coined after Brexit, the process of Britain's withdrawal from the EU which took place between 2016 and 2020.
JA21 is a political party in the Netherlands, active in the House of Representatives and Senate. It was founded on 18 December 2020 by Joost Eerdmans and Annabel Nanninga after they left the Forum for Democracy (FVD) on 26 November 2020. The party, affiliated with conservative liberalism, first participated in elections in the 15–17 March 2021 general election.
Belang van Nederland is a political party in the Netherlands, led by Wybren van Haga. Between 2021 and 2023, it was active in the House of Representatives as the independent Van Haga Group. Its three MPs split from Forum for Democracy in August 2021.
Toch wil de meerderheid van de deelnemers graag lid van de EU blijven: 59 procent.[Nevertheless, the majority of the participants would like to remain a member of the EU: 59 percent.]
Withdrawal from the European Union | |
|---|---|
| Withdrawal of member state territories |  French Algeria (independence)  Saint Barthélemy (changed to OCT status) |
| Withdrawal of member states |
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| Hypothesised | |
