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

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diagnosis it would have that a debate (albeit a limited one) eventually took place in the Netherlands on the merits of the Directive at all (Pelkmans and Van Kessel 2007). Communication studies along with the case studies used for this report also show that the public’s views concerning the results of European policy outcomes do not depend directly on the content or the costs and benefits of that policy, but are partly influenced by the ways and the context in which they receive and filter information about those results (Prast 2007). People are more receptive to (media) information which fits within their existing personal frame of reference (Zaller 1992). If they can be convinced of the eu’s image as that of an organisation obsessed with rules or one that devours money, they will be receptive to any information which confirms that image, but may create a mental block concerning information that undermines that image. This means that politicians and administrators have a particular responsibility to convey the results of their eu policy to the public in an appealing way, and also to take citizens’ concerns about that policy seriously. As Schmidt demonstrates, however, in a decentralised and fragmented political system such as the Netherlands, this vital communicative skill is only developed on a very insubstantial level (Schmidt 2006). Regarding the physical introduction of the euro, for example, citizens concerns about increased levels of inflation were initially ignored by the politicians. The fact that the introduction of the euro occurred during an economic recession, and amidst growing distrust of the political and administrative elites, was also evidently not taken into account in their assessment of the public’s reaction (Engelen 2007). 67 The traditional absence of debate on Europe and the low priority given to Dutch eu policy by politicians are also reflected in the media’s reporting on the eu which is much less in the Netherlands than in other member states (De Vreese 2007). The cyclical nature of that reporting accentuates this: during European elections and referenda on Europe, there is a brief flurry of media attention, whereas before and after these events it is largely absent (Norris 2000; De Vreese 2001, 2007). One explanation for this is that the principal actors and points of dispute are relatively unfamiliar to politicians and public alike, and the absence of ‘fights’ and ‘faces’ does not fit in with the modern news media’s logic of action. In the words of De Vreese (2007: 21): ‘If European issues are treated as political second-rate issues the result will be a third-rate media coverage and no public debate’. Comparative research confirms that Dutch newspapers devoted relatively little attention to European elections in 1999 and 2004. This gives rise to a vicious circle: the lack of public and political debate means the media will be less inclined to report on a given topic, while the absence of reporting in
ediscovering europe in the netherlands the media makes it less likely that a public debate will arise. Taken together, these trends reinforce the impression that Europe is a phenomenon which is largely ‘imposed’ upon national politicians and citizens against their wills. Despite the relatively high level of support that still exists for the eu in the Netherlands, Dutch eu policy is in danger of running up against increasing legitimacy problems as a result. 2.5 conclusion 68 European integration has been traditionally a matter reserved for the ‘technocratic’ rather than the ‘political’ elites, who nevertheless achieved major results by playing the game according to the rules of diplomacy and international law. They could rely on economic and legal instruments to realise this process. The results achieved formed the basis for the legitimacy of the integration process that was as natural as it was vulnerable. This technocratic orientation can be easily explained by the dominant input of experts from the political, administrative and functional elites in Brussels and the member states. It is, above all, these experts, together with a small circle of politicians, senior civil servants, lobbyists and highly educated individuals, who are able to identify with the idea of Europe as an embodiment of ‘ever closer ties between the peoples of Europe’ (Preamble to ec and eu Treaty). Despite this, the legitimisation of eu policy in the Netherlands through the processes of representation and accountability is relatively weakly developed. In the first place, the complex methods of eu decision making lead to situations where elected national mps often end up distancing themselves from active involvement in this ‘layered’ policy process. This is easily explained by the often highly technical content of European issues and the lack of media attention for them. This has a negative impact on the European debate in national politics, mainly because any such debate generally takes place at a later stage in the process and therefore has less relevance. Moreover, this vacuum gives rise to a perverse incentive structure which tempts politicians to claim European political successes as purely their own achievements whilst pushing the blame for political problems on to ‘Brussels’. Secondly, the European Parliament cannot be said to have a full mandate. This is both a cause and a consequence of the fact that few electors bother to vote at elections for the European Parliament. Those elections, like the local elections in the Netherlands, also primarily reflect the national political landscape. This is further exacerbated by the fact that there has to date been a lack of a strong, programmatic party political focus on European issues. In contrast to federal systems, there is no eu government which
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Following the negative 2005 referen
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