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

strengthening the legitimacy of dutch eu policy: conclusions and recommendations
political sensitivities and need not per se fit into a functional subsidiarity
test. However, they have a defensive and deterrent character if political
clarity is not simultaneously provided regarding what a country is prepared
to achieve in partnership with the eu and why (‘green lines’). Therefore, a
balance between these red and green lines is crucial.
7.4 improved legitimisation at the eu policy domain
level
7.4.1 introduction
Political and civil society actors may also contribute to a greater extent than
they at present do to the democratic legitimisation of eu policy in the
Netherlands on concrete policy issues. Two recommendations from the
report which are particularly well suited to that end will be highlighted
below, namely the establishment of a prioritisation committee in Parliament
and the attempt to generate greater openness with regard to the
contributions of (non-conventional) civil society organisations.
7.4.2 prioritisation and parliamentary scrutiny reservation
163
Direct elections provide Members of Parliament with a mandate from the
electorate to articulate the desires, concerns, views and expectations of the
public with regard to the content and outcome of policies. This also applies
to eu policy. Many European policy domains do not, however, lend themselves
to extensive political discussion and debate, as they may be virtually
without political controversy and/or exceptionally technical in nature.
Other eu policy domains may, however, be better suited to this political
dialogue because of their political importance and political sensitivity for
larger or more specific groups in society. The choice of which category
policy issues belong in and, related to this, whether and how parliamentary
discussion of such issues should take place, cannot be determined using
objective criteria, however. It is a choice which Parliament itself has to
make. This is also what prompted the wrr to endorse the call by the
National Convention for the establishment of a parliamentary prioritisation
committee (or to transform the recently installed Temporary Committee
on Subsidiarity Testing for this purpose) to sift through the proposals
of the European Commission on the basis of political and legal criteria.
Comparable committees are active in other eu member states. This
committee could select relevant issues which warrant further discussion
in specific parliamentary subcommittees or which are considered to be of
such importance that they deserve plenary discussion in Parliament. In this
way, the prioritisation committee could contribute to input legitimacy. The