Further to what I reported last Wednesday, the Dutch government has ageed with the judicial advice from the Council of State and decided that a referendum is not justified for ratifying the Reform Treaty, which will be ratified by parliament, as in the UK.

The Reform Treat merely amends previous treaties and the modest reforms to the EU institutions it does make have been deemed not significant enough to warrant a national referendum.

Dutch Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende said that "the new treaty gives answers to the worries of the Dutch population", referring to the concerns the Dutch people had over the shelved European Constitution.