"Reframing a National Narrative of European Integration: The Shifting Contours of the Dutch European Debate"

Harmsen, Robert. (2007) "Reframing a National Narrative of European Integration: The Shifting Contours of the Dutch European Debate". In European Union Studies Association (EUSA) > Biennial Conference > 2007 (10th), May 17-19, 2007, pages 24, Montreal, Canada.

Abstract

This paper examines the principal contributions to debates surrounding European integration which have appeared in the Netherlands since the country’s rejection of the European Constitutional Treaty in June 2005. Party progammatic statements, the results of public consultation exercises, the principal governmental advisory reports, and the policy statements of the recently formed Balkenende IV government are all surveyed. A picture emerges of a clearly defined national discourse on Europe, informed by what is presently termed a ‘limits of Europe’ approach. Strongly emphasising the principle of subsidiarity, this approach is primarily concerned with delimiting both the substantive and the geographical reach of the European Union, though recognising that selective expansion may be desirable. This distinctive, national framing of European issues is then further placed in comparative perspective, suggesting the particular difficulties which may have to be faced by Dutch political elites as they embark upon a new round of treaty reform negotiations.