Signatures that triggered EU-Ukraine referendum not vetted - Dutch government

People cast their vote for the consultative referendum on the association between Ukraine and the European Union in a makeshift polling booth at the Central train station in Utrecht, the Netherlands, April 6, 2016. REUTERS/Michael Kooren

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The authenticity of more than 400,000 signatures gathered by activists in the Netherlands to trigger last year's referendum on the European Union treaty with Ukraine was never verified, it emerged on Thursday.

The information came in a letter from the Internal Affairs Ministry, responding to a Freedom of Information Act request, published by broadcaster RTL.