Strasbourg, 05/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - MEPs meeting in Strasbourg on Tuesday 5 July viewed the results achieved by the Dutch Presidency of the Council in a relatively positive light, despite the reversal suffered by the EU in the UK referendum.
When looking over the Netherlands' record at the head of the Council in the first half of 2016, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that “we are in uncharted territory”, following the result of the referendum in the United Kingdom that was won by those in favour of the UK's leaving the EU (Brexit). He said that, after this reversal, a reaction is needed and, in his speech, he highlighted areas where the EU gets results through cooperation. The agreement with Turkey on managing the refugee crisis is not ideal but it has brought a fall in the number of deaths (10 since March) and has destroyed the market for the people smugglers, said Rutte, the leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy. He also set out the areas where progress has been made in combatting terrorism (such as the PNR, Passenger Name Record) and completion of the single market. He listed, too, the legislative acts concluded under the Dutch Presidency (which include tackling tax evasion, 4th rail package and more).
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was fulsome in his praise of Rutte's record and of the effectiveness of the Dutch Presidency. He applauded the “decisive” role played by the Presidency in concluding the agreement with Turkey. He hailed, too, the compromises reached on business tax, the digital market and SME funding.
Esther de Lange (EPP, Netherlands) said that the Dutch Presidency had “oiled the wheels”. She criticised the EU-Turkey agreement on migrants, arguing that its main purpose was to buy time. She hailed the agreement on addressing tax evasion and the improvement in cooperation between anti-terrorism services. She hoped that Rutte would continue to back banking union nationally after the end of the Dutch presidency. Paul Tang (S&D, Netherlands) stressed the need to tackle tax evasion and to create jobs. Syed Kamall (ECR, UK) spoke of a “historic” presidency and he emphasised, for example, better control of the refugee crisis. Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE, Belgium) said that Rutte had successfully “mastered the elements in six months of very stormy seas”. He argued, however, for further progress on completing the single market since, he said, 65% of the internal market has yet to be liberalised. The GUE/NGL and above all the Greens/EFA Groups were much more critical. Dennis de Jong (GUE/NGL, Netherlands) said that the Dutch Presidency “can best be described as big on the small and small on the big”. Philippe Lamberts (Greens/EFA, Belgium) was not at all impressed by the outgoing Presidency's record and he slated the failures in tackling tax evasion (an agreement he described as “minimalist”) and criticised the agreement with Turkey on refugees. Bill Etheridge (EFDD, UK) suggested that Brexit provided hope for the peoples of the other countries.
After the MEPs had spoken, Rutte said that, after the result of the referendum, “the United Kingdom has collapsed economically, monetarily and politically. It will take prolonged efforts to overcome the chaos. The 'exit scenario' is a dangerous little game and one which I will oppose”. “Europe is more than the market. It is a motor that guarantees job creation”, he said in response to those such as de Jong. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)