While Geert Wilders suffered a disappointing result, the Dutch EP elections were still a long way from a ‘vote for Europe’

In the run up to the European Parliament elections in the Netherlands there had been some expectation that Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom might top the country’s national vote. As Stijn van Kessel writes, however, the party only finished in third place behind the pro-EU Democrats 66 and the Christian Democrats (CDA). Nevertheless, he argues that the low turnout in the elections and a general increase in scepticism toward the EU among Dutch voters mean that the result cannot be viewed as a strong vote in favour of the EU.