Balkenende must lead the Netherlands back to heart of Europe

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 23rd May 2007

During today's debate with Dutch Prime Minister Balkenende, Graham Watson (Leader of the European Liberals and Democrats), expressed his dismay that the Netherlands is becoming one of the more euro-sceptic countries in Europe.

Graham Watson urged him to lead his people, instead of following them: "Stop letting the tail wag the dog. Lead the Netherlands back to the heart of European decision making, as befits its founder status of our Union. History teaches that Holland's golden years - as the wealthiest nation in the seventeenth century - came from uniting the 7 Provinces, not dividing them. You must convince your citizens that unity and prosperity are inseparable".

Watson reminded Balkenende that Europe has many challenges to deal with. Securing European energy supply, combating climate change and tackling terrorism require more European cooperation, not less: "To maintain Europe's international prestige and internal effectiveness, its institutions must change with the times. We are not just talking about ideology here. We are talking about people's jobs, their quality of life and their long-term prospects", concluded Graham Watson.

Andrew Duff (UK, Lib Dem), ALDE group spokesperson on constitutional affairs challenged the Dutch PM to identify what changes he believes are essential to reach a consensus on a new text:

"Mr Balkenende must clarify precisely what he thinks will convince his fellow countrymen to support this step forward for Europe and be acceptable to his 26 fellow prime ministers. The constitutional treaty can be improved. If the Dutch join us in the effort to secure improvements, all well and good. Superficial gestures, like the removal of the symbols, though will convince nobody."

Jules Maaten (VVD, Netherlands): "I agree with Prime Minister Balkenende that the Union needs to be made more open and more effective and have a stronger role in the world. As pragmatists we should be able to find a way forward that takes account both of the misgivings of our citizens and the needs of the Union to prepare itself for the challenges of the 21st century."

"The Netherlands is wrong to promote the deletion of the Charter of Fundamental Rights from the Treaty. I have never met a Dutch person who says he/she voted against the Treaty because it would give them more rights. The European Union is not only an internal market, but also a community of values." concluded Sophie in ´t Veld (D66, Netherlands.