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

civil society
The Dutch debate on the Services Directive shows that it is indeed possible
for civil society to take the initiative and rise above its sectoral approach.
Initially, however, the government opted for a depoliticising ‘polder strategy’,
in which two advisory bodies – the Social and Economic Council and
the Council of State – were asked to produce recommendations on the
draft directive (Pelkmans and Van Kessel 2007). However, this strategy
failed to remove the growing uncertainties among various groups about
the possible effects of the Services Directive. On the contrary, the criticism
of the Directive grew and led to the emergence of a spontaneous coalition
of different interest groups in the ‘Stop the Services Directive Platform’
(‘Platform Stop de Dienstenrichtlijn’). A broad spectrum of organisations
took part in this coalition, including the Labour Party (pvda), the Green
Left party (GroenLinks), the Socialist party (sp), the fnv trade union
federation, the national student union, the environmental movement
(Milieu Defensie) and various organisations active in the fields of development
co-operation and human rights. The Platform very effectively articulated
the prevailing broader concerns and, in doing so, generated a good
deal of media attention. The Platform’s activities impact on the public was
substantial, and the Platform thus functioned as a suitable arena for representing
society’s displeasure with the Services Directive (Pelkmans and
Van Kessel 2007).
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The Platform was used to bolster direct opposition and lobby against the
draft directive at both the national and European level, and several demonstrations
were also organised. The Platform also contributed to a hardening
of views. For example, the fnv mounted stronger opposition to the
proposed directive than in earlier ser (Sociaal-Economische Raad, Socio-
Economic Council) discussions. The Services Directive thus ultimately
became a political issue in the Netherlands which led to lively and heated
debate in the Dutch Parliament, where a diversity of positions were
defended, in turn generating a good deal of media attention.
Thus, the establishment of the Platform first created a bridge between the
individual sectors occupied by civil society organisations. In doing so, it
provided an example of how civil society organisations with very different
backgrounds can be united. Moreover, within these organisations, a European
issue was suddenly propelled out of its technical, specialist corner and
into the mainstream, where it became an important issue. These favourable
parameters can probably be attributed to the appeal of the criticism aimed
at the draft directive. The ‘Stop the Services Directive’ Platform was thus
successful in representing a single, specific view of the Services Directive.
However, it also ensured that the closed, segmented structure within
which European issues are usually dealt with had broken open, thereby