Dual Loyalties: The Boundary Role of the Dutch Permanent Representation to the EU

Abstract

Abstract This chapter on the Dutch permanent representation at Brussels sets out to test the claim that national idiosyncrasies are the key to understanding the functioning of the permanent representations of the European Union. The authors find, contrary to this contention, that the features of the Dutch political and administrative system—fragmentation, segmentation, and a lack of central authority—do not produce national arrangements at the European level that are similarly fractured. Indeed, in this important area of policy co-ordination, the machinery put in place by the Netherlands is considerably less idiosyncratic than might have been expected. The different sections of the chapter discuss the organization of the Dutch permanent representation, its personnel, its internal functioning and working methods, its role, its capacity to implement ambitions, and its effectiveness.