“So I am in any case against EU membership, now or in the future, of Ukraine.” Speaking is Prime Minister Mark Rutte, during a parliamentary debate in February 2017† Shortly before that, after some adjustments, the Netherlands agreed to the cooperation agreement with Ukraine, despite a Ukraine referendum that was disastrous for the cabinet. Rutte explains that the fear that the ‘association agreement’ is the prelude to more is not based on anything. And that he will “personally always resist anyway”, should it unexpectedly go that way.
This was repeatedly thrown at Rutte in the House of Representatives on Wednesday. Because how do those old statements relate to the cabinet decision that was made on Friday that Ukraine may now be admitted into the EU waiting room as far as the Netherlands is concerned? “You promised resistance, and now come up with the opposite,” says Member of Parliament Vicky Maeijer (PVV). Rutte says it “could” that he said this at the time. “If I’m quoted like that, I take it. I would point out that geopolitical relations have really changed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”
EU summit
On Thursday, EU government leaders in Brussels will discuss Ukraine’s EU status at a summit. On Wednesday, Rutte had to explain to the House how the Dutch position on this came about. For weeks, the Netherlands was on the brakes. Since the Ukraine referendum, any discussion of EU enlargement has been sensitive. The Netherlands also believes that Ukraine should not be favored over other candidate members, such as Albania and North Macedonia. Rutte himself said repeatedly that he was in favor of a French idea to set up a new ‘European Political Community’ parallel to the EU, in which countries do not really become members, but do belong more.
Why the Netherlands hesitates about EU membership for Ukraine
The Hague gave in on Friday after Germany, France and Italy suddenly openly embraced Ukrainian ambitions. The European Commission also issued a positive recommendation on Friday. This raises the question of whether the cabinet has not held on to a position that is rather hopeless for too long. And whether that the Netherlands has not cost too much political and diplomatic capital on the European stage.
This raises the question of whether the cabinet has not held on to a position that is rather hopeless for too long.
In the debate, Rutte disputes that he has succumbed to pressure from large EU countries. “What those large countries do can be a guideline for small countries. And no one wants to be alone on the positive or negative side.” But as far as Rutte is concerned, the European Commission’s advice was ultimately “leading” – and that only came on Friday.
surprise
A majority of the House supports the decision to support Ukrainian ambitions. “It may not have gone without a fight, the outcome may be there,” says Sjoerd Sjoerdsma (D66). Member of parliament Kati Piri (PvdA) is also happy, but she cannot suppress her surprise. The Commission often gives enough advice that the government does not care about at all. For example, there is a positive recommendation to admit Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen zone for free movement. The Commission also believes that Kosovo is ready for visa liberalisation. Piri: “I can name dozens of examples in which the Commission’s opinion was not leading.”
According to Rutte, the Netherlands did not turn around, but it was concerned that the Commission would embrace the Ukrainian candidacy “uncritically” because of the war. „We have asked the Commission to brutally honest to be,” he tells the House. According to him, he succeeded. According to the advice, Ukraine and Moldova can become candidate members, but before the negotiations on membership can really start, they still have to take steps, for example in the field of the rule of law or the fight against corruption. Georgia must take such steps before being admitted into the EU waiting room.
Tom van der Lee (GroenLinks) thinks that Rutte is drumming himself up a little too much. According to the MP, Ukraine itself has always said that it wants to be treated just as severely as other candidate countries. And he thinks Rutte should explain better why the Netherlands stuck to a course that threatened to result in diplomatic isolation for so long. „Be yourself brutally honest†
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