Brussels, 01/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - In a letter to the Dutch parliament, the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, points out that there are govenmental agreements under which, after discussion, it is possible for countries to opt out of the eurozone or the Schengen Area. Rutte was responding to a question from parliamentarian Carola Schouten about whether the Netherlands could refuse to go along with any aspects of the European project.
Mark Rutte told Dutch parliamentarians that every country should be free to leave major EU policies, like the euro and the Schengen Area. In this letter, jointly signed by finance minister and joint head of Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Rutte says that it is not currrently possible under the Lisbon Treaty to abandon EU policies. At the Davos World Economic Forum last week, he made similar comments, saying that the EU should not be like Hotel California in the Eagles song, where you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave!
The Dutch prime minister distanced himself from David Cameron's announcement that the UK may hold a referendum by 2017 on whether to leave the European Union. Rutte said that leaving the EU would be a disaster that will never happen. In his letter to MPs, the prime minister said that the Dutch government remained firmly committed to its desire to stabilise the financial situation of the eurozone, aiming to draw up instruments, institutions, aid programmes and agreements to deepen economic and monetary union, which demonstrates the Dutch cabinet's determination, he said, to preserve the integrity of the euro. (SP/transl.fl)