by Gisela Dütting
    Werkgroep Feministisch Europa
    Platform naar een Ander Europa

    Speech Opening Debate Alternative Summit/Amsterdam

    PART I

    Reasons for organising and main results

    The Dutch Coalition for a Different Europe
    Last Summer, only a few of us sat together in Amsterdam and we decided to DO something during the Dutch presidency of the EU. Coming from different social movements and progressive political parties we concluded:

    • that it was time to break the smug complacency about European integration among nearly all politicians in the Netherlands and to open a real public debate.
    • that it was time to voice our concerns about the ongoing process of European integration and to work towards alternatives for a Different European co­operation
    By October 1996, about 70 very concerned people officially started the Dutch Coalition for a Different Europe.

    Unlike other European countries, there was no political debate about Europe In The Netherlands. The Dutch public was only occasionally hearing superficial hallelujah stories about European co­operation and integration. The Maastricht Treaty passed through parliament here with hardly anybody noticing. Cutbacks in social security and collective provisions had started earlier in The Netherlands and politicians never linked cutbacks politically to the Maastricht criteria. For most of the Dutch, Maastri cht is still only this lovely city in the south.

    Since it's initiation, the Dutch Coalition has started to mobilise people and to stimulate public debate. We had to work in very difficult conditions with hardly any money and only a small number of volunteers to do everything. The organisations that f orm the broad coalition have undertaken a myriad of activities, from public speaking tours to placing a Swiss Alp on the Dam square, passionately highlighting the need for a democratic, green social, peaceful and feminist Europe. This led to an occasional picture in the newspaper.

    The public debate that we were trying to get off the ground finally reached the general public with the Declaration of 70 Dutch economists. Some of the economists are part of the Coalition. With their criticism on the Economic and Monetary Union, they received a lot of media attention. The attitude of the Dutch government was very dismissive. The Minister of Finance, Mr Zalm's first reaction was to say that it was not theEMU that was a dangerous project but that the 70 economists were dangerous themsel ves. There was little attempt to openly discuss the content of the declaration. Apparently, ministers even received special instructions not to discuss the EMU in order to avoid showing disunity in the cabinet. Today an international Declaration of econom ists has been published.

    Despite media attention in The Netherlands now, politicians are not showing a keen interest to take part in a public debate This month, there was a call for a public Referendum about the Treaty of Maastricht. The government dismissed it immediately. In parliament, the proposal for a referendum received only 7 votes.

    But thanks to the attention that was generated in the media and thanks to the political changes in the UK and France, the Euro Summit and the Treaty of Amsterdam are finally in the Dutch public media at last.

    The Dutch Coalition is a broad platform of a wide variety of organisations. But we are still very far from a broad citizen's movement at this point. I hope that the coming days and this Alternative Summit will change that.

    I am very proud to take part in this debate today. The Dutch Coalition for a Different Europe, incorporating various social movements, is taking it's place in a broad political movement from all over Europe. We are looking forward to talk with you, to take action together with you and to exchange experiences with you. We welcome you to Amsterdam.

    PART II

    Do not agree to have your kitchen re­decorated when you have nothing to say about the decorators

    Yesterday, Minister van Mierlo, the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs said in a speech to the European Parliament: 'Indeed, citizens are not interested in the Treaty of Amsterdam, that is just the way it goes. We are re­decorating the kitchen of th e European Union and they are not interested, they are interested in the meals that come out of that kitchen like employment, environment. That is what matters'. After this speech, members of the European Parliament had a celebratory lunch, anticipating t he Treaty of Amsterdam.

    As a citizen of Europe, I think there is very little to celebrate and I do not agree to have the kitchen re­decorated if I have nothing to say about the decorators.

    Yesterday, also the results of a national poll became available:

    • 60% of the Dutch public is indifferent towards the European Union
    • 82% has no idea what the most important issues are during the Euro summit in Amsterdam and
    • 85% sees no clear advantage of a unified Europe.
    This is the clear and sad result of
    1. the policy of the Dutch government to depoliticise issues, to limit public information to a leaflet and to dismiss any attempt to open a public debate on European integration
    2. the feeling of Dutch citizens that their opinion does not matter anyway when it comes to European politics. And this feeling is unfortunately based on facts.

    The first element:

    Despite the Dutch presidency, it soon became clear that the government was not initiating any real debate on European integration. Let me illustrate this with the type of information that the Dutch public gets from its government: since January, radio­ and TV commercials are broadcasting a very positive message and referring to this leaflet 'We and Europe/Wij en Europa'. The leaflet starts explaining in a very simplistic tone that the first advantage of European integration is that Spanish strawberries are already available and affordable here in March. A few pages further, it explains that environmental problems (probably caused by the transport of strawberries from Spain) can be dealt with more effectively on a European scale than on a national scale. The overall tone is that we in The Netherlands are not yet completely satisfied but we are moving in the right direction. No cause for concern.

    This was the general mood at the beginning of 1997. The Dutch Coalition for a Different Europe has since it's inception worked towards: *more public debate in The Netherlands *criticizing the current European integration from various perspectives *building alternatives, bottom up, for this European integration *linking up internationally with groups in other European countries and beyond

    Our Europe must be a Europe that will pursue a solid social and environmental policy, create jobs, eliminate the democratic deficit, guarantee equal opportunities for women and men, uphold the rule of law, be hospitable towards refugees, be open to the East and in solidarity with the South, contribute to peace through disarmament and promote sustainable development both inside and outside Europe.

    Let me elaborate further on the democratic gap, the second element:

    It is not OK to redecorate the kitchen if citizens have nothing to say about the decorators. If you continue doing this, you are promoting disinterest among citizens and you cannot be surprised if people don't know and don't care, like in The Netherlands. In addition, the broad protest of people all over Europe clearly shows that the food that comes out of the European kitchen is hardly for public consumption.

    The democratic gap in this European Union is intolerable. European Institutions amass more and more power, well out of the reach and democratic control of citizens. Although everyone talks about 'the need for more transparency' in the European Union, u p till now, there are no proposals that will really put democratic power and control into the hands of citizens in Europe. In stead more and more European Institutions are formed and given new mandates (like Europol), without democratic control.

    European decision making is presented in very technical language. Only specialists know how and what. Politicians hide behind technical details and fail to explain the political choices that they are making in reality.

    Political participation of people is not a priority and it not on the political agenda, now dominated by the EMU.
    A good example of this is the low representation and political participation of women in every country in Europe and in the European Institutions as a whole. We are talking about 50 % of the population. The culture of politics in general, the possibilitie s to participate politically, outright discrimination and the political importance that is given to issues that are important to women, show a serious aspect of the democratic gap. 'Democracy' without women is simply not democracy. But no one speaks about this.

    Politicians are getting together in Amsterdam. What they are talking about and deciding is cloaked in secrecy.

    • texts and text proposals have been prepared by bureaucrats and very few know exactly what is in them and what they mean
    • as an interested citizen you have to work your way through inadequate public information, bits of information from the press, and careful attention to what politicians are not saying
    • the Treaty of Amsterdam will be decided on, in a long session on the 17th when the final deals will be made by government representatives. Minister Kinkel from Germany described this as 'the night of the long knives'.

    We are here in Amsterdam to demand a democratic Europe.

    Last updated: