EU-Ukraine Association Deal to Help Oligarchs, Not Ordinary People

Harry van Bommel, a Dutch lawmaker from the Socialist Party said that he was against the association deal as Ukraine remained unstable due to the conflict in the country's east that claimed the lives of almost 10,000 people.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — EU money will go to Ukrainian oligarchs' pockets if the EU-Ukraine association deal is ratified by all 28 EU member states, a Dutch lawmaker from the Socialist Party said Wednesday.

An advisory referendum on Ukraine’s association agreement with the European Union took place in the Netherlands earlier in the day. The Netherlands is the only member state that has not yet ratified the deal.

"This [treaty] will not help the ordinary citizens in Ukraine. It will help the oligarchs, it will help Poroshenko and it will help the others. I am willing and the Dutch are willing to help Ukrainians, but we can do that through neighborhood policy and all sorts of funds that are available already," Harry van Bommel told RT.

Van Bommel stressed that the corruption in Ukraine was extensive and permeated through the entire government structure.

The lawmaker added that he was against the association deal as Ukraine remained unstable due to the conflict in the country's east that claimed the lives of almost 10,000 people.

The result of the advisory vote will be published on April 12. Even if the majority of voters say no to the EU-Ukraine association agreement, the free trade zone, part of the association agreement, will still be implemented.