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

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strengthening the legitimacy of dutch eu policy: conclusions and recommendations Therefore, politicians and policy makers can no longer allow the content of eu policy to be determined exclusively by specialists. By the same token, however, they cannot absolve themselves of their responsibilities by hiding behind the views of the Dutch public. Citizens’ views on eu policy cannot be inferred directly from opinion polls or focus groups (Tiemeijer 2006). As in the case of the Constitutional Treaty, these views are often superficial and vague. Above all, however, they cannot simply be translated into concrete policy programs just like that. This is all the more the case when it comes to complex issues of eu policy which are often distant from daily life and experience. The Treaty revision process is – again – illustrative in this respect. Citizens did not have a prepared concrete action plan when it came to the review of the basic eu treaties. Although they might desire a ‘better’ Europe which is not a ‘superstate’, what that means or how that should be shaped is up to politicians. In short, in an eu that is becoming increasingly political, politicians have a greater responsibility to take the political lead, but they must shape that responsibility within the mandate of the electorate. And yet it is precisely that mandate which they appear to have lost. National politicians and policy makers must therefore tap the different sources of legitimisation. However, there is a lack of adequate mechanisms for this in the Netherlands. The wrr has therefore formulated a number of proposals which offer a portfolio of options for mobilising and reinforcing the legitimising role of national politicians and policy makers. This should ensure that the Netherlands can continue to contribute to vital eu policy outcomes in the future. Of particular importance is the potential of these proposals to reach beyond the mere institutional and to genuinely involve citizens in Dutch eu policies. The most important of these proposals are discussed in the following sections. 157 7.3 better legitimisation at the level of the political system 7.3.1 introduction Improved legitimisation of eu policy in the Netherlands will require a significant overhaul of the communication strategies employed by the ministers directly involved, the Prime Minister and political spokespersons as well as of discussions and deliberations in Parliament, within the various political parties and in the media. Only then can politicians and policy makers genuinely incorporate the interests and desires of citizens in the decision-making process (representation), and be held accountable for those actions in Parliament or the media. To date, these sorts of debates
ediscovering europe in the netherlands have largely been absent in the Netherlands and, when they have indeed taken place, these discussions have been too focused on institutional or abstract issues such as ‘the’ European integration or ‘the’ functioning of ‘the’ institutions. For most politicians, media and citizens, the eu only becomes interesting when the discourse is focused on the ‘grand issues’ in a manner that is familiar to them. In the opinion of the wrr, the proposals set out below at the level of the political system offer a means of mobilising these issues and debates in the short term. 7.3.2 centralised strategy on eu policy 158 Substantive choices on common European challenges and public representation and accountability for those choices have become essential in a political union which impinges more directly on the vital interests of its citizens. What does the Dutch government consider to be the key issues for the Netherlands in areas such as asylum and immigration, the environment and the social impact of the internal market policy? What ambitions does the government propose to pursue? What is at stake and which strategies are the most appropriate? To prevent government efforts at the European level being dictated by the specific ‘logic’ of individual issues and lagging behind the rapid pace of European developments, it will be necessary to strengthen the prioritisation of European issues, and to come up with a more robust political steering. Substantive prioritisation means that the government will be able to identify the European issues that are crucial for Dutch politics, to assess those issues and to adopt a position on them. This will push the technical and expertise-based approach into the background and bring the democratic legitimisation of political choices to the fore. This will also make the European political process of representation and accountability much more accessible to Parliament, the news media and the public. Within the constraints of an eu in which the Netherlands is just one of 27 member states, substantive prioritisation is obviously also intended to influence the development and outcome of eu policy and thus to reinforce the output legitimacy. Prioritisation also requires effective political steering on the main strategic lines of eu policy. The ability to make broader political judgements that go beyond individual policy issues requires a clear allocation of political responsibilities. The complex division of tasks within the Cabinet, which in addition to the line ministers also assigns responsibilities to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Junior Minister for European Affairs and the Prime Minister, is at odds with this approach. It has accordingly been regularly
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