Rediscovering Europe in the Netherlands - St Antony's College ...

safeguards and direct citizen participation
means of avoiding the making of important decisions. It is also important
in ensuring that the citizens’ votes actually count. If politicians are ultimately
allowed to ignore referendum outcomes, voters would immediately
notice that they are not being taken seriously and it would create only an
illusion of actual participation. Thus the outcome must be politically or
legally binding. However, this also means that referenda can only be held
when the Dutch have managed to find a decisive voice in the European
decision making process. Decisions in which the opinion of a majority
of the Dutch population could be overruled by a majority in the other
eu member states would thus be inappropriate.
This means that eu decisions that involve a constitutional amendment and
require ratification by all member states, or those that do not necessarily
need the (active) participation of all eu member states, would be eligible
for referenda. This would include not only treaty amendments, but also
European foreign and security policy, police and judicial co-operation
initiatives and Dutch participation in forms of strengthened co-operation
(cf. the Eurogroup) or international (military) missions.
In order to maximise voter influence, consideration should also be given to
the notion of making referenda compulsory for certain types of decisions
(most obviously, radical treaty amendments). This could have an anticipatory
effect on the behaviour of politicians and the degree of interest on the
part of the electorate. It would provide clarity on the types of proposals
regarded as suitable for direct referenda. At the same time, it could ensure
that voters are consulted only occasionally on particular issues which are
regarded as sensitive and important. Politicians would then have to formulate
a reservation in the negotiation process at the European level for the
voice of the people – not just in terms of the process, but also considering
the possibility of a substantive correction by the electorate. This would
create a situation that would differ significantly from the European Constitution
referendum, in which the decision to consult the Dutch people was
taken only in the latter stages of the process. If it is clear from the start that
the ultimate decision on a given topic will be decided by a referendum, it
would be an incentive not only for politicians but also for the media and
civil society organisations to become more involved at an earlier stage.
109
The responsibilities of politicians must also be clearly defined. In other
words, measures are needed to soften the ‘bluntness’ of the referendum
instrument. This means that the outcome of a referendum must deliver a
clear mandate to politicians so they will have some idea of how it must be
executed. A referendum couched in terms of a dichotomous choice about a
long and complex text, in such a late phase of the decision making process