Brussels, 30/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - The Dutch Presidency that starts on 1 January of next year will make current events central to its agenda, the ambassador of the Netherlands to the EU, Pieter de Gooijer, explained on Monday 30 November.
“The Presidency will be dominated by the events which took place or which are taking place in Paris”, he explained at a conference arranged by the EPC, in reference to the attacks of 13 November. These events “have massively changed the European agenda”, he said, adding that collectively, more must be done to fight terrorism. “This will be an important part of our Presidency”, he stressed. The Presidency will also have work to do on the migration crisis of the EU.
“One of the challenges will be to maintain a balance between the strategic agenda adopted last year and an adequate response to the new challenges of immigration, terrorism and security”, said de Gooijer, adding the need to maintain flexibility, during the six months' Presidency, to respond to any new challenges which may emerge. In addition to the hot topics of the moment, therefore, the Dutch Presidency will continue to work on the priorities laid down at the European Council of June 2014, such as growth and employment. “Jobs and growth will require efforts to promote our industry, our private sector in line with sustainability, innovation and competitiveness”, the ambassador added.
The expansion of the single market, including the digital single market, and external trade are also Dutch priorities. The Presidency intends to work on the social dimension of growth and employment, for instance, the mobility of employment. The Capital Markets Union, Banking Union and the reinforcement of Economic and Monetary Union are also on the Presidency's programme. It will also be working on the results of COP 21.
The Netherlands will also undertake a cross-cutting programme to promote subsidiarity. “We will be focusing on the things that need to be done at European level”, de Gooijer explained. He went on to stress the importance of reconnecting with the citizens. “We are going to try to get a better idea of what the citizens want from the EU, we need to listen to them before telling them what we are doing”, he said. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)