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

civil society
form for the Introduction of the Euro’ (‘Nationaal platform voor de introductie
van de Euro) – hereafter referred to as ‘the Platform’ – which was
installed by the Ministry of Finance in February 1996. The Platform was
comprised of senior representatives from a large number of different civil
society organisations, not just obvious organisations such as the three
largest trade unions (fnv, cnv and mhp), the Dutch employers’ organisation
vno-ncw, the Dutch Central Bank, the Netherlands’ Bankers’ Association
and the Dutch Federation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
(mkb Nederland), but also interest groups such as the Dutch Consumer
Association, the Dutch retail association rnd, the pensions and insurance
regulator Pensioen- & Verzekeringskamer and the Dutch Federation of
Agricultural and Horticultural Associations (lto). However, the Ministry
of Finance’s central role implied that the agenda was being dominated by
financial experts, so that the input of non-financial interest organisations
was greatly reduced. This was exacerbated by the underlying idea that the
introduction of the euro was a purely technical, logistical operation in
which ideological oppositions and political legitimacy were not relevant.
The broad representation of civil society organisations was therefore
directed mainly towards generating as much information as possible from
‘the field’ and resolving any problems which might arise with the introduction
of the euro as effectively as possible. Thus the Platform did not function
as a forum where a wide range of social interests were articulated
or where opposing views could be resolved. Moreover, the Platform was
dominated by monetary and financial experts, so that the other Platform
participants were forced more into the role of information providers than
equal decision makers.
129
The Platform accordingly began its campaign activities fairly late, in 1998 –
when the European Commission gave the official green light to the second
phase of the project (Mak 2001: 153). Mak (2001: 155) cites the lack of
controversy in the Netherlands with regard to the monetary policy in
general as an explanation for this late start, but also believes it was a deliberate
strategy by the Ministry of Finance designed to confront Dutch citizens
with a political fait accompli.
All in all, the Platform was a typical example of the technical embedding
of policy issues, ultimately aimed at ensuring the legitimacy of the policy
outcomes. There was no place for the representation of different community
interests or of voices critical of the government. As such, the Platform
fit into the Dutch corporatist system very well, with its strong tendency
towards depoliticisation. The scope for civil society contribution to eu
policy legitimisation in the area of representation and accountability was
thus smothered at birth. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the prob-