In the event of conflict with Brussels, 'stubborn' the Netherlands usually comes to the (expensive) shortest end
In the event of conflict with Brussels, 'stubborn' the Netherlands usually comes to the (expensive) shortest end
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In conflicts about the application of European rules, the Netherlands usually loses out. But The Hague learns little from these clashes with the European Commission, writes the General Court of Auditors in a report on Thursday, June 15. The Netherlands sometimes acts' stubborn 'and that can be expensive.
It is hardly useful for the Netherlands to enter into the formal conflict if the European Commission believes that the Netherlands is not applying the EU rules properly. The Netherlands usually eventually binds anyway, writes the General Court of Auditors in a report that will be published today, June 15. But if the Netherlands does not accept the view that it is violating European rules, the Commission can create a so-called infringement procedure start. This mainly consists of correspondence between Brussels and The Hague, in which both parties argue why they should be right.
Dutch ministers sometimes insist on their own right out of “political considerations”
The Court examined sixteen infringement procedures that the Commission conducted against the Netherlands between 2010 and 2020. In ten cases, the Netherlands agreed with the Commission and adapted the practice. In three other cases, the Netherlands reluctantly cooperated. If the infringement procedure does not lead to a solution, the Commission can refer the matter to the Court of Justice in Luxembourg. During the period under review, the Court of Auditors saw that the Netherlands lost six out of ten cases before the Court. An example is import duties, which Dutch customs do not collect when, according to the European Commission, they should. In 2019, the Court ruled in favour of the Commission in a long-running conflict over the import of semolina, rice and milk powder. In addition to the overdue levies, the Netherlands then had to pay a penalty interest of 65 million euros to Brussels. Comparable costly conflicts involve the import of solar panels and textiles from China, such as Follow the Money showed in 2021.
“Calculated risks”
Yet the government learns very little from those lost things. It's not an issue either, it seems. “In the Netherlands, there is relatively little political and administrative attention to the procedures that the European Commission starts against our country for possible violations of EU law,” writes the Court of Auditors. The Hague officials discuss the legal procedures “not extensively, both in terms of process and content”. The House of Representatives is “only informed in general terms” about these conflicts with Brussels. Exceptions are the major problems that appear prominent in the media, such as the nitrogen crisis, which is the result of a violation of a European directive by the Netherlands.
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The Court states that, for “political reasons”, Dutch ministers sometimes insist on their own right and take “calculated risks”. “In some cases, ministerial employees regard the Netherlands' response to possible violations of EU law as “stubborn”,” write the authors. On the authority of “a few employees” of ministries, the Court of Auditors states that “the political top of a ministry does not always appear to be sensitive to official advice about possible violations of EU rules”.
Reimbursement of subsidies
The General Court of Auditors did not investigate it correctly. applying of European rules. Another problem isn't it? on time laying down European agreements in Dutch law. Follow the Money published the article about this last year 'Traag The Hague': The Netherlands is usually too late, but does little concrete to improve that. The conclusions of another study are also in line with the Court's findings. An internal government report from 2009 that obtained Follow the Money stated that officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality were reluctant to ask Brussels if they were interpreting the EU rules correctly “for fear” of being wrong. The ministry often 'persisted' in its own right, which regularly led to the compulsory repayment of subsidies.
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Author:Peter Teffer
Investigates how the EU works in practice: lobbying, subsidies, rules and supervision.
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