International

Harry van Bommel - When persons introduce themselves as ‘Europeans’, I don’t trust them. ‘Europe’ is not a country, there is no ‘European people’, ‘European’ is not a language, and there’s no ‘European’ culture. People depicting themselves as European are expressing with this designation a desired political ideal, of a United States of Europe.

The Belgian Guy Verhofstadt is such a one and he expresses this, also, quite openly. My fellow Member of Parliament Mark Verheijen of the ruling centre-right VVD is therefore quite correct to say that Verhofstadt represents a danger to support for the EU. Verhofstadt’s Europhile prattle alienates voters from the EU, including from all of the good aspects which are indeed associated with the Union: peace, freedom and prosperity. They make Dutch citizens ill-disposed towards the EU, because in the Netherlands there are very few supporters of the European superstate to be found.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte is lending his support to Verhofstadt’s candidacy for president of the European Commission. What a nightmare. So a vote for the VVD list headed by Hans van Baalen in next May’s European Parliament elections will soon be translated into a vote for Verhofstadt. A stronger piece of negative advertising Van Baalen could not find. This is going to cost the VVD in the European Parliament a lot of seats, which is also a good thing. The self-confessed European Verhofstadt must absolutely not become president of the Commission and the Commission must itself be made somewhat smaller. If it were up to me, its right of initiative would be removed and given instead to the European Council, which directly represents the member state governments. Control by the member states would then be truly possible, and democracy would be well served.