Exit polls indicate that voters in the Netherlands have strongly rejected the proposed European Union constitution. That makes Holland the second nation to defeat the proposed EU constitution in less than a week.

The government finances television network NOS conducted an exit poll which projects the referendum on the EU Charter failing by a vote of 63 percent to 37 percent. Turnout was higher than expected. Roughly 62 percent of all eligible Dutch citizens went to the polls.

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende had supported the EU constitution. He told his people, 'The question is: Do we want to have progress today or do we choose a standstill, and for me the choice is obvious.' It was clearly not enough to sway Dutch voters.

One factor in the no vote is a mistrust of the Dutch government. 'The government is not telling the truth about what is in the treaty,' Nicolas Ilaria told the Associated Press. He added, 'In principle, I'm against bureaucracy and I don't believe everything is working well now.'

The EU constitution needed to be approved by all of the member nations to take effect in late 2006. With two 'no' votes already in, it appears that this will not happen. The pace of European unification has been slowed. The question is, will it continue at a slower pace, be much more limited than expected or scrapped altogether?