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

ediscovering europe in the netherlands
of which, the number of stakeholders (people with an interest in the decision-making
and those most directly affected by it) increases (Schmitter
in Marks and Hooghe 2005: 6). This process assumes that there are relevant
political actors who have contrasting views on European issues and who
express and promote those contrasting views.
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The wrr has four critical remarks for the government’s second question.
Firstly, politicisation has been evident for some time in sensitive areas of
European policy (such as the emu, the enlargement of the eu to Central
and Eastern Europe, and asylum and immigration (wrr 2003)). However,
the theoretical and empirical analyses carried out for this report also show
that politicisation occurs to a lesser extent in the Netherlands than in other
member states and still plays a too limited role in the way in which the
Dutch political and administrative system functions. The urgency of this
problem increases as the number of sensitive political issues increases (e.g.,
the Services Directive, Turkey’s eu candidacy, the Constitutional Treaty).
Politicisation has thus become a reality on a number of European issues.
Secondly, politicisation offers no guarantee of social engagement because
citizens may not feel engaged by the debate and the visions of the various
political actors. Thirdly, politicisation may reveal contradictions that can
have the effect of further complicating the shaping of a cohesive Dutch
input into the eu decision-making process or an adjustment of the Dutch
line of policy. And finally, politicisation can also lead to frustrations when
it turns out that the Dutch position on an issue in a Union of 27 has very
little chance of actually succeeding. In short, rather than seeing politicisation
as a potential instrument for bridging the gap between citizens and
European policy, the wrr conceptualises politicisation as a factual process
which results from the ongoing integration in politically sensitive (policy)
fields. The wrr explores the available means, within the Dutch context, to
establish a system of mutual contact between political actors, citizens and
social groupings that is productive for the legitimisation process.
1.3 design of the report
1.3.1 objective, central questions and limitations
With this report, the wrr seeks to explore the ways in which Dutch
politicians and government officials can develop a future-proof, socially
relevant and legitimised eu policy in light of the increased politicisation of
European issues. The wrr commences with a brief analysis of the problems
surrounding Dutch eu policy, and subsequently formulates proposals
which could reinforce the legitimacy of eu policy in the Netherlands. This
results in the following central questions: