Europe, Headlines

POLTICS-EU: Dutch Head For a Lonely Presidency

Stefania Bianchi

BRUSSELS, Jun 9 2004 (IPS) - The upcoming Dutch presidency of the European Union has pledged to conclude the next round of enlargement negotiations, to step up the fight against terrorism and to make a stronger commitment to the Lisbon process. But can six months make a difference in EU politics?

The Netherlands is due to take over the six-month rotating presidency of the European Council from Ireland on July 1. But in the face of structural and institutional changes in the European Union (EU) there are doubts over what can be achieved.

The European Council at the political head of the EU brings together the heads of state or government of the 25 EU member states and the president of the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU.

Tom de Bruijn, Dutch representative to the EU says that the Netherlands will aim to advance EU policy in the areas of terrorism and asylum, and restart the stalled Lisbon process – a commitment to economic, social and environmental renewal in the bloc..

De Bruijn says there is need for – greater integration" between member states on a common asylum programme, and for increased police cooperation..

The Dutch presidency also hopes to conclude ôtechnical negotiations" for entry talks for Bulgaria and Romania in December.

ôWhile we have made good progress with Bulgaria, things have been a little more difficult with Romania," de Bruijn told media representatives Wednesday (June 9).

These countries hope to join the EU in January 2007.

The second half of 2004 will also be a crucial period for Turkey in its bid to join the bloc.

The European Commission is due to complete a report on Turkey's progress in meeting criteria for EU membership during the autumn, and EU leaders will decide in December whether to open membership negotiations with Turkey..

De Bruijn said that although Turkey has made ôtremendous" progress in recent months, it is ônot there completely". Negotiations for the entry of Croatia into the EU are also due to begin this year. De Bruijn said he hoped they would begin before the end of the presidency.

The Dutch presidency will also ôstart the practical implementation of the entry into force" of the European Constitution, which is set to be agreed at the European Council meeting of heads of state June 17 and 18.

Irish Prime Minister and current head of the rotating presidency Bertie Ahern says there is a good chance of agreeing the Constitution at the June summit.

ôUntil we have all the issues together and get an agreement on it I think 50:50 is the position," he said last week.

If a deal is not reached later this month the Netherlands will be responsible for chairing further negotiations. De Bruijn said that a failure to finalise a Constitution under the Irish presidency would ômake things more difficult".

But Dutch attempts to press ahead with such issues will be dogged by a host of problems, including a changeover in EU executive power during its term.

The first half of the Dutch presidency is expected to get off to a slow start with this week’s European elections bringing in a fresh wave of members of the European Parliament (MEPs) who will spend their first few months in office finding their way around the corridors of the huge parliamentary buildings in Brussels and Strasbourg.

The present European Commission will be on its way out with a newly structured college of commissioners due to take over in November.

De Bruijn acknowledges that this transition period will hamper Dutch efforts.

ôOur presidency comes at a very difficult time with the changes in the Parliament, Council and Commission," he said. ôFor a lot of our presidency there will be no real counterpart to the Dutch."

But the Netherlands is not the first holder of the presidency to face such challenges.

From the outset the system of a rotating presidency has been widely criticised for its ôever changing external face".

Some countries have failed to make an impact on EU politics within their six-month time frame. This was particularly true of the Italian presidency in late 2003 under which Constitution talks collapsed in December.

Ireland’s efforts since the beginning of this year have been commended because it successfully led the enlargement of the bloc in May and because it could finalise the Constitution before its term ends.

But in spite of a mainly flawless track record, Ireland’s aim to advance the Lisbon agenda at the spring EU Summit was hampered when the Madrid bombings on March 11 came to dominate the agenda.

De Bruijn says the Dutch presidency hopes to take over where the Irish left off – even though economic matters are usually dealt with in the spring.

ôWe hope to address specific issues such as the administrative burdens of the EU for industry, but we do not want to take the economic agenda away from Luxembourg who will take over from our presidency in January 2005," he said.