EU Mulls Action If Dutch Election Results Are Released Early
The European Commission is considering action against the Netherlands if European Union vote results are released there Thursday, days before some member states go to the polls, an informed source said. "It seems that this time the commission services are going to open an infringement procedure," unlike in 2004 when the Dutch E.U. votes were released early without sanction, the official said. Dutch and U.K. voters Thursday kicked off four days of voting across Europe to choose the 736 members of the European Parliament, the only directly elected E.U. institution. While the U.K. vote results won't be released until all 27 E.U. nations have completed voting Sunday, results in the Netherlands are set to be published as soon as they are counted late Thursday.
Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger refused to be drawn on any possible action but underlined the E.U. nations' obligations. "It is not for member states to publicly announce the results of elections prior to the completion of voting in all member states. That will be at 10 PM on Sunday and not before. This is an obligation of the member states," he said. "The legal provisions are perfectly clear," he said, adding however the media are free to publish exit polls and to predict results.
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