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

ediscovering europe in the netherlands
‘complacent’ political elites that arose after the ‘Fortuyn revolt’ in 2002.
In this sense, we can say that these events amounted to a wake-up call,
although there are indications that not everyone was woken-up because
there is much evidence that the new realities of European co-operation are
still not being fully addressed. Without a change in the way in which the
Dutch political system addresses and legitimises the investment in and the
results of Dutch eu policy, the inadequate and incomplete legitimacy of
eu policy will continue in the future. In other words, if we wish to avoid a
situation where, whenever Europe perpetrates a policy intervention, the
issue of ‘Europe’ itself becomes the most important topic of discussion,
then things will have to change.
Without additional sources of legitimacy, the signs seem to be that Dutch
politicians and administrators will be permanently confronted by major
legitimacy problems with regard to eu policy.
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It will become clear that this complex diagnosis of general European ills
and problems, which are specifically related to the nature of the Dutch
political system and eu policy, cannot be cured with simple remedies. The
ensuing chapters take as their starting point that the national institutions
(politics and the administration, media and civil society) will continue to
play a crucial linking role in the legitimisation of Dutch eu policy. This is
not to say that major reforms at the European level are not also desirable in
the longer term. This report, however, is concerned primarily with the
national level.
The analysis set out in chapters 3-7 draws upon insights from both the
constitutional and democratic traditions and the four dimensions of legitimacy
and is accordingly focused on the question of how the existing
perverse incentive structures can be broken down and the legitimacy of
Dutch eu policy strengthened.