With nearly all votes counted, the charter lost 62 percent to 38 percent, an even worse defeat than the 55 percent "no" vote delivered in a French referendum Sunday.

　　"The Dutch people have spoken tonight. It is a clear result. Naturally I am very disappointed," Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said in conceding defeat in his campaign for ratification.

　　The charter was designed to provide such trappings of statehood as a flag, a president and an anthem for what has largely been an economic bloc, while creating a more integrated political entity of 450 million people with a bigger economy than America's.

　　Knockout表示“摧毁性的，足以击倒的，猛烈的”，例如：a knockout punch（猛烈的一拳）；a knockout blow（使人昏倒的一击，压倒性的一击）。

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