Netherlands: Hoping For Balance and Convergence
As a trading nation, the Netherlands has in particular valued the EU’s economic dimension. This also includes the EU’s geopolitical influence as it requires a major trading bloc to sway international negotiations. Moreover, it has always strived to balance powers in Europe and feels that the EU is a good vehicle through which to do so.
The Dutch do not want a super state by stealth. They oppose the idea of a political union with the Commission as the government under the political authority of the European Parliament. Relatedly, a fiscal union with major transfers between Member States is not popular in the Netherlands. A stronger EU in Dutch eyes implies stronger member states rather than “more Europe”.
The Netherlands will remain leery of further integration as long as national reforms are not implemented. In the case of the Eurozone, the country would welcome the implementation of economic convergence scrutinised over time, contrary to what has been done in the past.
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Netherlands: Hoping For Balance and Convergence
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