From our News Desk:
The Dutch Senate has approved the European Union's Association Agreement with Ukraine, paving the way for ratification of the pact strengthening ties between the EU and Kyiv.
The 50-to-25 vote in the upper parliament house in the Netherlands on May 30 marks one of the final stages in a long path to the landmark deal, which had initially been slated for signing in November 2013.
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Dutch Senate set to back key EU-Ukraine pact:
By RFE/RL
The Dutch Senate is expected to vote in favor of the European Union's Association Agreement with Ukraine, paving the way for ratification of the pact strengthening ties between the EU and Kyiv.
The vote marks one of the final stages in a long path to the landmark deal, which had initially been slated for signing in November 2013.
Then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych balked at the deal under pressure from Moscow, prompting massive protests that pushed him from power in February 2014.
Russia responded by seizing Ukraine's Crimea region and backing separatists whose war against Kyiv's forces has killed more than 9,900 people in eastern Ukraine -- moves that have reinforced the desire of many Ukrainians for closer relations with the EU.
The Dutch lower house of parliament backed the agreement in a vote weeks before March 15 parliamentary elections, and King Willem-Alexander is expected to sign it into law in the coming days.
European diplomats speaking on condition of anonymity have told RFE/RL it could be ratified during an EU-Ukraine summit in July and would enter into force in early autumn.
The Netherlands is the only EU country that has yet to approve the agreement with Ukraine.
The agreement's fate was plunged into uncertainly when 61 percent of Dutch voters opposed it in a citizen-driven, nonbinding referendum in April 2016.
The Dutch government eased voters' concerns in December by adding a legally binding supplement to the Association Agreement to underscore that it will not give Kyiv the right to automatic EU membership or guarantee any EU military aid for Ukraine. (Rikard Jozwiak)