sign in sign up
<<
Home , Daniel Hannan, Forum for Democracy

The road to Nexit A look into Dutch

FINAL EXAM PROJECT 8 June 2018 Sofyan El Bouchtili

Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018 Table of Contents

ON THE ROAD TO NEXIT (25.079 CHARACTERS)……………………………………………………………………………….3

REFLECTION REPORT (17.760 CHARACTERS)……………………………………………………………………………………17

SOURCE LIST ...... 24

2 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018

Link to story on Medium: https://medium.com/@elbouchtili.sofyan/on-the-road-to-nexit-9eac93f9dd48 On the road to Nexit

Brexit caused a shock to the process of European integration and has left many Eurosceptic parties with the idea that an exit from the European integration project is possible after all. In the a new party is advocating for a Nexit. Forum for Democracy has set its sights on the exit door, but to leave the Union they have another challenge first: convincing the Dutch.

Daniel Hannan, British Conservative and Member of the , came to speak about ‘, and the opportunities for the Netherlands’. Photo: Sofyan El Bouchtili

“I drank champagne on the morning of the results of the ”, says one of the youths as he congratulates British Conservative and Member of the European Parliament Daniel Hannan on Brexit. Brexiteer Daniel Hannan was invited to an event at the Red Hat in on 25 May. The renowned debating center in the heart of the historic center of the city was the venue of choice for Forum for Democracy to talk about ‘Brexit and the opportunities for the Netherlands’.

3 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018

A mixed crowd of young and older people awaits Daniel Hannan anxiously. Photo: Sofyan El Bouchtili

When Daniel Hannan reaches the stage a wave of excitement goes through the crowd. As he repeats one-liner after one-liner, each statement emphasising the success of a self-governing United Kingdom is met with loud approval. “All of the dire predictions we were given during the campaign have been shown to be nonsense.”, Hannan proclaims adamantly.

According to Daniel Hannan, the Brexit has been covered differently on mainland Europe. He frames the Brexit debate between a willing British side and the that tries to hurt British intrest as punishment. “If the EU was convinced of its own idea, then leaving would be it’s own disaster”, Daniel Hannan says. People nod confirmingly. Someone in the back yells “SHAME!”, showing support for Daniel Hannan’s claims.

But progress of the Brexit negotiations between the UK and the EU has frequently halted, not in the least due to practicalities and more delicate issues like sorting out the Irish Border. And the UK has yet to leave the EU on 29 March 2019.

4 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018

Daniel Hannan was one of the main figures behind the Leave-campaign that lead to Brexit. Photo: Sofyan El Bouchtili

Over 400 people showed up on a hot Friday night. Most of the people in the room are convinced that the Netherlands should follow in their footsteps and leave the EU. Online more than 28.000 people joined in to listen to what Daniel Hannan had to say.

Even before it started, the event had already caused an uproar online and in the media. Shattered windows, superglue in the locks and graffiti on the wall that reads ‘fuck FVD’ (Forum for Democracy) and ‘no fascism’. That is how the day began. A group of antifascists claimed the vandalism on debating center The Red Hat. The reason: giving a fascist movement a space for gathering.

And on top of that, another protest took place. It was organised by a different group under the name of ‘Bezorgde Amsterdammers’ or ‘Worried Amsterdammers’. They gathered in front of the entrance while people stood in line for the event. In the background, the windows were being fixed and the paint removed.

5 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018 The protesters held signs that read “Forum for Democracy: racists-nationalists-sexists”. Some people waiting to go inside got visibly upset, some even confronting the protestors. And of course local and national news were there to register the confrontation. It is clear that the newly formed party does stir up the public debate.

All of the dire predictions we were given during the [Brexit] campaign have been shown to be nonsense. Daniel Hannan, British Conservative Member of European Parliament

In all this commotion, Forum for Democracy got free publicity for their event. Nexit was talk of the day, online and offline. Hosting Daniel Hannan has a clear purpose for Forum for Democracy. One of their main electoral agenda points is taking power back from Brussels to The Hague: “It is time to quit the monetary union, to close the open borders and then to leave the EU.”

Thierry Baudet founded the party as a in 2015. After a successful campaign to organise a referendum on the Association Agreement with Ukraine along with partnering citizen platforms, the think tank became a . cited the disappointment of the lack of impact the referendum had on the Dutch government’s action as a reason to become politically active. Photo: Sofyan El Bouchtili

Thierry Baudet, leader of Forum for Democracy, is confident there is broad consensus to achieve a Nexit: “56% of the Dutch preferred a future for their country outside the EU. These figures are higher than the Brexit vote.” The poll he puts forward was commissioned to polling organization Peil.nl by the Eurosceptic British think thank The Bruges Group.

The poll was carried out under 1174 Dutch voters. The question that was posed included several options: 39% wanted to remain member of the EU, 23% preferred the so called

6 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018 Norway-model, 27% think the Dutch should leave and make their own trade treaties and 11% had no idea. If you leave out the people saying they had no idea, then you reach an outcome that leaves 56% of the Dutch wanting to change their relationship with the EU.

According to Thierry Baudet, the Dutch can not be out of the EU soon enough, as he explains to a reporter from the PanAm Post at the launch of the Conservatives International conference in Florida, . In international media, Thierry Baudet clearly tries to portray his country as if it were on the verge of a Nexit. In doing so, he is trying to change the once so Europhilic image of the Dutch.

According to the Eurobarometer, the Dutch have long been among the more positive members of the European Union and have long been a largely Euro-optimistic nation. However, in recent results a part of the Dutch show more estrangement from the EU. It shows 44% of the Dutch feel ‘not very attached’ to the EU and 13% feel ‘not at all attached’ to the EU. A small 1% is undecided or doesn’t know. This in contrast to 35% who feel ‘fairly attached’ and 6% that feel ‘very attached’. In other words, the Dutch are divided on their future in the EU.

Eurobarometer results for the Netherlands (question above) , as of November 2017, Source: Eurobarometer, published by European Commission

7 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018

Eurobarometer results for the European Union average (question above), as of November 2017, Source: Eurobarometer, published by European Commission

The Eurobarometer is not the first sign to show that division. In a referendum in 2005 the Dutch, along with the French, rejected the treaty on establishing a constitution for the European Union. In 2014 in another referendum that was called for by several citizen platforms — including one that was formed by Thierry Baudet himself — the Dutch voted against the EU Association Agreement with Ukraine. Both instances were a loss of face for the Dutch government in the EU.

The Dutch government went ahead with both anyway. In the case of the Constitutional Treaty it was amended and then instead of being put to a referendum, it was passed by the Dutch government in the form of the Lisbon Treaty. The Association Agreement with Ukraine, meaning the first step for the country towards EU membership, was passed in a bill by the Dutch House of Representatives and the last year.

But it would be wrong to assume that these instances of rejection of European Union politics show a clear negative attitude of the Dutch towards the EU. Both of these occurrences were also influenced by what was playing out on the political stage on a national level. For example, a poll by Maurice de Hond showed that in 2005 support or rejection of the ruling Cabinet Balkenende II had an effect on the voting result.

“What I notice is that as soon as the EU is criticised, it is described as Euro-scepticism” Hans Vollaard, Assistant Professor in Dutch and European politics

Hans Vollaard, Assistant Professor in Dutch and European politics, does not assess the Dutch political debate to be so polarised. That’s why he thinks that a Nexit is unlikely to happen anytime soon. Among his current research topics are European disintegration and Euro- scepticism in the Netherlands. “In the Netherlands, there’s often criticism on the Association Agreement with Ukraine, or on a certain country joining the EU: but that is normal politics.”

8 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018

Hans Vollaard is specialised in Euroscepticism in the Netherlands, he wrote a comprehensive historical overview with colleagues called ‘From attacking! to defending’. Photo: Sofyan El Bouchtili

“What I notice is that as soon as the EU is criticised, it is described as Euro-scepticism”. He argues that we should carefully assess this kind of criticism before we label it. “It is just criticism on the basic principles of the process of European integration and sharing sovereignty and influence on the market order.” And thus we should view it first in the context of normal political debate.

This criticism is also reflected in the changing attitude of the Dutch governments towards the EU. Initially the Dutch government is hesitant but afterwards, the following catholic and socialist coalition governments strongly defend European integration. As long as the Dutch interests were aligned with those of their European counterparts.

This stance remained. But as enlargement plans are formed and European cooperation becomes more complex, the dream of a politically united Europe fades. “In the eighties we see the Dutch government using the guideline ‘are we going towards a political union?’. And slowly but surely you start to see it shift in the nineties to ‘is our national interest being served by this?’ ”.

Euro-pragmatism

It was also in their own intrest to push the membership of the United Kingdom in the 60s. “You can try to make me believe anything but not that the United Kingdom was a Europhilic country. It still isn’t”, says Vollaard. The United Kingdom could provide the Netherlands with a strong partner to face the German-French heavy weights. France had too much of a state-led economy, not liberal enough for the Dutch, and they wanted to make sure that European policy was not going to just serve the interests of the biggest economy, Germany.

9 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018 Hans Vollaard calls this stance Euro-pragmatism; treating EU politics as a win-lose in relation to national interests. In order to understand Euro-pragmatism we need to nuance our idea of Euro-scepticism, explains Hans Vollaard. Euro-scepticism revolves around the idea that political power should reside in the nation-state. That is why these movements are sceptical about sharing sovereignty and influence in the order of the national economy.

But there are parties that want to completely leave the EU and become a self-governing nation. They are called hard Euro-sceptics. Then there are those that feel that the EU has clear advantages but that the process of integration has gone far enough and should not continue any further. They accept the status quo and are called soft Euro-sceptics. And next to that, there is Euro-pragmatism that continues European integration but uses a rhetoric that is very critical for the way it happens.

“You might be able to buy Euro-burgers in McDonalds, but I don’t think you’ll find any in the EU”. Frits Bolkenstein, the leader of the liberal People’s and Democracy (VVD), showed with this statement in the early 90’s that the belief in the idealistic notion of European political union had faded. And so even before the arrival of and Thierry Baudet, on the Dutch political stage, a shift away from completing European political integration was clearly visible in the Dutch government’s attitude towards the EU.

“However, the most important development in the nineties, was a shift from the governing Europhilic parties like current prime minister ’s liberal party, the Labour Party and the Christian Democratic Appeal towards Euro-pragmatism” according to Hans Vollaard. This became even more clear after the referendum in 2005. That defeat was a strong signal for the Dutch government to reassess their support for the EU. “In this moment, they went from ‘a European political union is not feasible’ to ‘it is no longer desirable’”.

10 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018

A group of protesters gathered outside of the Red Hat in Amsterdam on the day of Daniel Hannan’s visit to Amsterdam. The protest was not so much aimed at the subject of Brexit and Nexit but at Forum for Democracy’s hardline views on migration and multiculturalism. Many of these protesters were holding up signs that read ‘socialisme.nu’. The site hosts messages, many coming from far left and radical left-wing. Ironically none of the protesters came in to debate with the rest of the crowd, even though many of them also do not support the European Union, according to one of the protest leaders. Photo: Sofyan El Bouchtili

Up until that moment, the Pacifist Socialist Party was the only party in parliament that pleaded for an exit from the European Economic Area. But this precursor of the current Green Left party went from being Eurosceptic to Europhilic when the Green Left was formed out of several left wing parties. They realised that their agenda on climate and environment would be best served with partners in a European context. An example of how the Euro- sceptic attitude transcends the left-right division in the .

The scapegoat

A problem that has plagued the image of the EU in nation states is that Brussels is the perfect scapegoat in the event something goes wrong. The Netherlands are no exception to this trend. “Euro-pragmatic parties, such as VVD and CDA, especially in the electoral arena when there are elections, think twice to win over as many voters as possible. And they know they can do this to a part of the public that would otherwise vote for Forum for Democracy of Party for Freedom, because of their Euro-sceptic position.”

That in itself makes the position of these governing parties on the EU unclear. Because they don’t shy away to adapt their rhetoric depending on the agenda setting of Euro-sceptic parties. An example. According to Politico, Dutch Prime minister Mark Rutte is a respected

11 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018 leader with a lot of influence in the EU that was able to fend off Geert Wilders’ party during the national elections of 2017.

However, his national campaigning was more a show of if you can’t beat them, join them. His party was one of many traditional parties that mimicked the critical opinion on the EU of Euro-sceptic parties in the 2017 elections.

Up until a few years ago, it was Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom that mainly embodied and fuelled the Euro-sceptic sentiment in the Netherlands. But the hard Euro-sceptic line of thought is not confined to Wilders’ populist party. Thierry Baudet, Forum for Democracy’s photogenetic leader, saw a clear vacuum between the Euro-pragmatic parties and Geert Wilders’ hard Euro-sceptic party.

The distance, Thierry Baudet thinks, between these two sides of the spectrum is too big and has left some Dutch voters without a choice. “We have the main political parties that want to continue the project of gradual dilution of the nation state and on the other hand we have the populist response to it, Mr Wilders’ party, which is not a realistic alternative. So there’s a huge vacuum there, a huge niche” he told the PanAm Post.

And that is exactly where and how Forum for Democracy wants to position themselves in the Dutch political landscape. They aim to entice the right wing of the more traditional and conservative right-wing parties closer to the center and those who can’t recognise themselves in the harsh rhetoric of Wilders on the far right. The first include the governing parties CDA, Christian Union, and prime minister Mark Rutte’s liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). All of which have made a shift towards a more pragmatic stance on migration, eastern enlargement and European political integration during the last years.

In recent polls of the National poll (June 2018), the success of Thierry Baudet’s party is clearly reflected. Prime minister Mark Rutte’s party doesn’t seem to be very affected, holding it’s place. But it is Wilder’s Party for Freedom that takes a big hit, going from 20 to 14 seats. Remarkable winner in this is Thierry Baudet’s Forum for Democracy that has seen an increase of seats, going from 2 to 16 seats in recent polls. But polls are not the same as election results. However the rise of Forum for Democracy with also the fastest growing youth department is undeniable.

Irreversible

“Sorry, I find this very naive”. A man in the crowd stumbles to finds the words as he’s the only one who tries to confront Daniel Hannan with some pragmatic questions on the future development of the UK economy. Once again, Daniel Hannan points out that Brexit will remove constraints and allow the United Kingdom to seize better opportunities. A more concrete answer the Brexiteer did not have.

12 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018

But Brexit has given new ground to the idea of going it alone outside of the EU. Even though this night was supposed to be about the lessons of Brexit for Nexit, not many concrete answers were given as to how the Dutch should prepare their Leave-campaign. Photo: Sofyan El Bouchtili

But Brexit has given new ground, in the Netherlands, to the idea of going it alone outside of the EU. What Daniel Hannan emphasised was that self-governing had democratic, constitutional and economic advantages. An argument frequently reiterated by Forum for Democracy in the Netherlands. Next to taking the power back to The Hague, the party advocates leaving the .

That would only be possible by leaving the EU entirely. So they have a definite interest in making the common currency unpopular and indicate the flaws of the economic and monetary union regularly.

Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank was invited to The Hague to answer questions by Dutch members of parliament last year. Forum for Democracy-leader Thierry Baudet took the opportunity to ask if the Dutch would be reimbursed for their surplus in contributions if they would leave the Euro, just like the Italians would have to pay off their debt in case of an exit. Mario Draghi, visibly irritated, reminded Baudet that the Euro has been a succes, especially for the Dutch economy. To that he added that leaving the Eurozone is not possible because of the signature on the Treaty of Maastricht.

The came into force in late 1993 and formed the European Union out of the European Communities. Next to cooperation in security and defence and police and judicial cooperation it introduced a set of criteria that were meant to converge the economies of the union. It created an economic and monetary union laying the foundation of the central banking system and the Euro.

13 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018 This was needed to make sure that all participating countries could benefit from the common currency. “Adopting the Euro is irreversible. That’s what it says literally. Ir-re-versible. It is one of the few clauses of the Treaty that is so unequivocal that you can’t interpret in three ways”. Speaking is Wim Boonstra, Special Economic Advisor to the RaboResearch Group and Professor in economic and monetary policy at Free University Amsterdam.

Wim Boonstra also rejects Thierry Baudet’s quid-pro-quo perspective that sees a creditor and debtor relationship between strong economies and weak economies. Also when it comes to the contributions made to the budget by each country, the debate is framed in this way.

“But if you look at those figures in termes of what Northern European integration has meant for the development for the harbour of Rotterdam, the enormous amount of European headquarters registered in the Netherlands, to arrange the distribution [of goods and services] throughout Europe, the monetary stability that we have had and trade flows… Then those administrative costs are only a fraction of what the European Union provides us.”

The coming of the economic and monetary union made different Member state economies become reliant upon one another. The Netherlands is a country with a strong favour for liberal economic policies. The euro has made between strong and weak, liberal and more state-led key in European integration plans, something that has always been a thorn in the side of the Dutch.

Dutch economic pragmatism

The Dutch sure show their pragmatic side when it comes to economic policy. Before the Euro, the Netherlands were a weaker economy depending on the strong German economy. They formed a strong monetary bond with the German currency, the German Mark. It’s something that other countries did not do until much later, in preparation of the Euro. “This means that the competitiveness of the Dutch business has always been a key issue in the policy agenda. As a result the Dutch economy has continued to focus to remain competitive.”

Being very reliant on international trade, the EU achievements of single market, custom’s union, common currency and further economic and monetary integration have been very important to the Dutch economy. As a small country it has managed to become the 17th biggest economy in the world, according to the IMF.

Arjo Klamer, Professor cultural economy at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, still has strong objections to the EU economic and monetary policies we currently have. Since the eighties he has made a name for himself as a critic of European economic, monetary and political integration and more specifically the Euro.

During the time he was alderman for the Socialist Party (SP) in Hilversum, he was also a member of the Committee of Recommendation of Forum for Democracy.

He thinks there are structural errors in it and feels that it is against all his values and principles as a socialist. “I object to the label of eurosceptic. Because it means that I am negative and pessimistic and it suggests that the people in Brussels are positive and optimistic”, he claims.

14 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018 In 1997, he was part of a group of 70 economists that criticised the plans for the establishment of the euro in an open letter. But since the Euro has been established and used for almost two decades now, that front of critics has fallen apart. But he himself remained critical.

“And I still am [critical] because I think a currency needs a strong political union, which isn’t there right now, a strong political union needs a demos, a sort of common feeling, which is also absent. Europe is too divided, and so there isn’t enough solidarity.” He fears that this will cause the Euro to be a sort of Trojan horse that will erode the trust in European integration from the inside. He fears concretely that all the different European economies need their own currency to be able to face the modern economy.

“A splintered Europe will be out of the picture soon enough” Wim Boonstra, Professor in economic and monetary policy Free University Amsterdam

Wim Boonstra does not agree at all. “If you just look at European integration in its entirety, then it is a great success story”. He argues that Europe goes full steam ahead. “Europe, as a whole, is now the biggest economy in the world. And in 50 years, Europe will still be in the top 3 economies world wide. That means that we have influence over everything that is important in life.”

“A splintered Europe will be out of the picture soon enough. And then it will be the Chinese and the Americans that decide the fate of the world. And I would not wish that for my grant children” he adds.

“A splintered Europe will be out of the picture soon enough. And then it will be the Chinese and the Americans that decide the fate of the world. And I would not wish that for my grant children” — Wim Boonstra — Photo: Sofyan El Bouchtili

15 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018 As the audience flocks out of the main hall towards a drink and a bite in the cafe, their appetite for more information on why the Netherlands should leave the EU was not satisfied. The book stand was quickly overrun. Daniel Hannan and Thierry Baudet’s books with signatures are highly in demand, as well as the obligatory selfie.

With titles such as The Attack on the nation-state (by Thierry Baudet), How we invented Freedom and Why it Matters and Why (by Daniel Hannan), these books are an example of the narrative of movements like the Leave-campaign and Forum for Democracy try to create.

And the feeling that remains in Red Hat that night is the lack of a EU counter-narrative. “What is disappointing to me is that the EU institutions are not able or willing to emphasise their success and carrying it out as such”, says Wim Boonstra.

However, for these people, the debate on European integration has already taken a decisive turn towards the exit. And Thierry Baudet is aiming for an ever growing audience. He sees the Netherlands leaving the EU within 5 years. With European elections coming next year, it is up to the EU institutions and the Dutch parties to try and shape a new vision for Europe.

16 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018

REFLECTION REPORT

1. The aim of the story; the relevance of the chosen topic – from a societal and journalistic point of view.

My story aims to inform (especially) Dutch readers on their position towards the EU and point out developments of Dutch Euroscepticism through a new political party, a year before European elections. Although it is written and aimed at this target audience, the piece can also be interesting to read for people interested in the development and effect Brexit has had on Euroscepticism in the EU in general.

In a series of elections in France, Italy and the Netherlands last year, many EU experts, eurocrats and international media feared a win for the Eurosceptic bloc in those respective countries. None of the countries saw a spectacular victory for these Eurosceptic parties, but in the Netherlands Wilders’ Party for Freedom came in on second place in the election results. Not a win that would immediately threaten the more established governing center parties. But with big losses for these parties like PvDA (Labour party) and conservative parties, following the European trend of losses for long governing parties, it showed a clear electoral shift in the Netherlands.

But this story became particularly relevant because of the negotiations on the new EU budget Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027. Because of Brexit, the second biggest contributor would leave the EU. And because the EU Commission proposed to keep the budget similar in size, this would mean a redistribution of financial support for the budget. Immediately afterwards the budget was criticized by Sweden and the Netherlands. This is an explicit show of alignment with Nordic countries in the EU.

But the rise of a new Eurosceptic party that positions itself between the governing liberal party and Geert Wilders’ far right-wing rhetoric I found particularly interesting. Forum for Democracy, just like the party’s front man Thierry Baudet, have already been extensively covered in Dutch media. But I could not find a publication that took a few steps back and put this development into an understandable context of the Dutch opinion on the EU.

Most publications from established newspapers treat the party as a marginal happening, on the other hand there are far right-wing and populist online media that glorify the new party. Clearly this party had a big effect on neo-conservative and far right-wing voters.

17 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018 2. Your choice of angle/focus. Rejected ideas.

The angle I chose came about by looking around for a happening that could be used as a metaphor for my story. As my story is a political one, I was looking out for political happenings coming from Eurosceptic movements. I got lucky that Daniel Hannan was invited to come during the time of my exam project but I took that with both hands. It gave me a person, place and happening that were all concrete enough to tell my story by.

At first I wanted to angle this story around the common currency, the euro. I wanted to use the symbol of European economic, monetary and to a certain extent political integration to tell my story by. It would have made it clear that I tried to use the Netherlands as one of the archetype Euro zone members that has a very good economic and financial state and use it as an example of the opinion on EU integration from that point of view. However, this turned out to become very complex.

In the end I scratched this idea because I felt that it would take me too far away from the actual story and lead me to write a much longer and complex story. Instead I used the party Forum for Democracy to make the story more human and relatable.

3. Choice of type of media, media outlet and target group.

I chose to make a long read with just small bits of multimedia to engage the reader and enhance the flow of the story. This format was especially suited because it could give a deeper insight and bigger context around my subject, something I was missing in other publications.

Before deciding on this format, I pondered on splitting the story up into different smaller articles that could be read in a series. But I feared that in doing that the story would lose its overall relevance as I could not guarantee that people would read and appreciate my story as a whole.

Also, in function of the media outlets I had in mind, this format was easiest to translate to their styles of publication.

At first I thought about ‘Vrij Nederland’, a monthly magazine that has some respected political journalists reporting on politics in the Netherlands and the EU. They are also considered to be one of the more intellectual and influential magazines in the Netherlands. And on top of that this media outlet also recently switched their online publishing model, going from several small stories a day to just publishing one big online story every day. That approach is exactly what I had in mind for this story.

Other than that there are two other media outlets in the Netherlands that I would contact. (See below ‘5.’)

18 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018 My choice of media outlets for publishing have had an impact on the final product. Although I make use of photos to keep my readers engaged, the article still requires a big effort of readers as it makes use of some historic and political knowledge that is presumed of someone who has been following political developments in the Netherlands and the EU. I did not have the space in the article to explain in detail every reference to a certain EU development e.g. signing of a Treaty, economic and financial developments like the eurozone crisis.

4. Your reflections on the impact of the EITW courses on your research, analysis and production.

Something that has kept me very curious since the first months of the EITW courses was something we saw in the EU Politics class. Arie taught us about the end of the ‘permissive consensus’ (as seen in McCormick). This development has had an immense effect on the progress of European integration.

It also had an enormous effect on my perception of the EU. I realized in this process that I went from being Europhilic to being much more critical on how the EU institutions handle their image and relationship with EU citizens.

And it was especially clear in the case of the Netherlands and France with the rejecting the European Constitutional Treaty in 2005. That is when I already decided that I wanted to write in-depth about how the debate on the European Union forms. Although I didn’t yet have an idea of how to do this.

I looked for the metaphor. As a rule of thumb, I kept Jesper Strudholm’s lessons in mind to find and angle my story. Just like he taught us, I kept looking for the nutgraph that could define and carry my story. It was Jesper’s classes that gave me the foundation to guide this process. Something that I found really hard as I had picked a very broad and complex topic to begin with. But that is exactly why I chose it, so I could train the skill of ‘writing a story like a fish’ a lot.

Also Jesper’s classes helped me with trying to research and analyse a really big societal trend. For me it was about challenging myself, something I also did during Euroviews. But this time I made sure that I did not drown myself in

Added to this is a comment made by Asbjørn Jørgensen during my coaching session to keep looking for a concrete place, happening or person that lead the way through the story. I then searched and found exactly that: the event on Brexit held by Forum for Democracy. This to me showed a link between Brexit and the debate on Nexit, the high-profile appearance of the movement behind this debate and the protest beforehand showed the small space of European debate being highjacked by the far left, far right and alt right-wing politics.

19 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018 5. Your assessment and suggestions as to the publication of your stories through other channels or in different formats.

Other channels

The story I brought fits mostly in news magazines that include long in-depth stories. Above I mentioned ‘Vrij Nederland’ as the ideal channel, but there are some other Dutch magazines in which my story could fit.

First, there is ‘De Correspondent’, an online journalistic platform that publishes articles that aim at highly educated readers looking for context and in-depth analysis of a subject. But I put this outlet as a second choice because usually they don’t have articles that are as long as mine. But it is interesting as it is all about the (long and complex) text, which immediately calls for a very specific, more educated kind of reader.

Then there is ‘De Groene Amsterdammer’, a weekly news magazine that is perhaps best suited for a print publication of this article. This outlet has published articles before that were over 4000 words. Also they allow journalists to write complex articles for their highly educated target group.

Other formats

In my story, the new Dutch alt-right party Forum for Democracy plays a significant role. When I visited the event of Forum in Amsterdam, I was intrigued by those who came all over from the Netherlands to attend the event. The party is growing rapidly while siphoning votes from both traditional and other anti- establishment parties. It is mainly Forum that is reviving the Nexit-debate. Their strength lies not only in having a very charismatic young , but also the fact that they are supported by numerous academics and rich business people. This all plays a major role in keeping the Nexit-debate alive. Therefore, this story could also be brought through a long documentary. This way, the charisma of the party could be brought to screen while this is more difficult to put down on paper. However, this requires weeks of following Baudet and his party up close to create an interesting and in-depth documentary with enough images. As they are already very wary about media, it would also take months of convincing them to do this project and to gain their confidence.

6. Follow up possibilities and specific suggestions. Possible other sources.

Forum for Democracy, a new party winning over the Dutch – As mentioned above, and in my story, Forum for Democracy is a party that was founded a-only a few years ago. In a very short time, they have managed to grow rapidly, siphoning votes from both traditional and other anti-establishment parties. Also

20 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018 on an international level, they are more able to find equals then Party for Freedom-leader Geert Wilders, which add to their success and their appeal. Therefore, it would be interesting to do an in-depth story on the party and the success behind the party.

Forum for Democracy as an anti-migration movement - Before the event about Dan Hannan in Amsterdam, people came to protest against Forum for Democracy, accusing them of being racist and anti-migration. Supporters of the party had some conversations with the protestors, denying that they were racist. They were mainly supporters of the party because they felt that – finally – there was a bottom-up party in which their voices were heard. There are also a lot of people with another background supporting the party. It would be interesting to look into this frame of FfD being an anti-migration party: is it purely a result of framing by other politicians and media outlets or are they really just like Wilders’ Party for Freedom, but in an eloquent and elitist way.

Brexit and Nexit, side by side - During the lecture by Dan Hannan, he mentioned the close relationship between the UK and the Netherlands a few times, almost concluding that the Netherlands should follow the example of Brexit. Also during some of my conversations with Hans Vollaard and Wim Boonstra, the close connection between the Netherlands and the UK was quoted. Therefore, it would be interesting to make a comparative piece on their relationship and if this would add to the (im)possibility of a Nexit.

In terms of possible other sources, it would be interesting to speak to Thierry Baudet himself and also to some members of the youth movement of the party. I’ve tried to get an interview with Baudet but he was too busy this month.

7. Documentation, reliability, source value: Assess the strength of the main claims and assumptions made in your project. Do also assess and explain main weaknesses.

First and foremost, I had to make my way through a new political landscape. I tried to look for the most appropriate sources available and had the opportunity to talk to experts that were highly specialized in their fields, some of which already appeared in Dutch media.

The claims on Forum for Democracy however, were based on talks with experts and other media coverage. This because my request for an interview was denied and the general careful stance of the party. I had the feeling that even when I got to attend their event and be on the press list, that they always wanted to control the story. So these claims could have been informed better by speaking to someone from inside the party. The closest I got was an interview with Arjo Klamer, someone who is familiar with some of the highly placed people and was on the committee of recommendation of Forum for Democracy.

21 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018

The claims on the government’s stance could also have been informed better by speaking to a representative of the Dutch government, in the Netherlands or in the EU. I was in contact with the press secretary of Esther De Langhe, vice president of the European’s People Party, and member of Christian democratic appeal, but after calling and requesting multiple times and being told that they would answer my questions via e-mail, they did not answer anymore. So I could not use this input which I think could have been valuable. I tried to mend this by speaking to Hans Vollaard and using some of the literature he produced on the matter.

8. Style and presentation: Explain your language, organization of information, presentation of material, choice of genre, and the relation to the media outlet chosen etc.

Language

Although I use long sentences to explain my point, I try to work in a lot of details to immerse the reader. My style is also very literary. It helps to take out some of the complexities of the subject I chose. That is why I tried to omit as many technical terms as possible.

Organization of information and presentation of material

The information in my article is organized through a set of subjects that I go through to give an expansive view. The nut graph is used to express the main idea of my article like we were taught. As mentioned above, I then use my sources to go over the different subjects that I decided on for telling the story. And then I always try to make a full circle to the main point of my story – in this case the event of Forum for Democracy – to make sure that my message is cohesive. I also included some photo material to give the reader some rest in reading.

Relation to the media outlet chosen

As mentioned above, “Vrij Nederland” has a one-online-story-a-day-approach. That is why I tried to keep the piece attractive while not too complex. But the extra-long space is useful to tell a story as expansive as this.

22 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018 9. Considerations about legal and ethical issues; refer to literature and recognized ethics codes.

I used the code of conduct of the Dutch Association for Journalists: https://www.nvj.nl/ethiek/ethiek/code-journalistiek-nederlands-genootschap- hoofdredacteuren-2008

Code 20 (legal): filming people without permission and without explaining the subject of my work – I wanted to shoot a video of the event where Daniel Hannan was invited, but for that I had to get accredited by Forum for Democracy. As they were unwilling to answer my first request for an interview, this would be a problem. Eventually, I got permission from party’s Press Secretary to film at the event. I was almost kicked out of the event when Thierry Baudet thought I did not have permission but after a short talk with a Press Secretary, I could continue my work.

10. Other issues

I had some difficulty in bringing this rather abstract story on Euroscepticism in a comprehensive and more human way. It took some time for me to come up with a storyline that would help in the comprehension of Euroscepticism in the Netherlands. What mostly helped was talking about it with multiple friends and classmates and to see if they understood what I wanted to do. This helped me a lot.

This year has been challenging for me. I wanted to prove myself despite my mental health difficulties. This was not always a success, especially not during the last months, and I wanted to make this final project the project in which I could finally overcome all of this. Overall, I’m proud of how I managed to work my mental difficulties during this project. However, as the deadline came closer, I became paralyzed and my fear of failure took over from me. Having talked to my psychiatrist about it, I’m hoping that this is an issue that I will conquer in the future.

During the project, I had some sort of setback when my grandfather passed away. In consultation with my family, I stayed in the Netherlands to continue my Exam Project. Finishing this project was a way to make my grandfather proud.

11. Conclusion

This project was a very good way to finish the year. It made me have to use the information out of almost every single course that we had this year. For me that was a very good way of getting a rundown of what I have learned and what I should keep working on.

23 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018 As a journalist I feel like I now know much better what my strengths and weaknesses are. I’ve been able to determine how to overcome my set-backs and how to tackle bigger stories. The skills that I have been able to add to my skillset this year, make me feel a lot more comfortable to set out and continue my training in investigative journalism and make stories along the way.

SOURCE LIST

1. SPOKEN SOURCES

• Arjo Klamer Professor of cultural economics at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, former governor in the city of Hilversum for the Socialist party, Member of the Advisory committee of Forum for Democracy Tel. + 31 10 40 88 621 Mail: [email protected]

• Daniel Mügge Professor of Political Arithmetic at the University of Amsterdam. He specializes in political economy and European integration among others.

Tel. + 31 20 52 52 112 Mail: [email protected]

• Hans Vollaard Assistant Professor of Dutch and European politics at the University of . He specializes in Euroscepticism in the Netherlands.

Mail: [email protected]

• Wim Boonstra Special Economic Advisor and Economist at RaboResearch. He specializes in European integration and monetary issues. He is also a professor in Economic and Monetary Policy at the VU University Amsterdam.

Tel. +31 30 21 62 666 Mail: [email protected]

• Jan Visser Jan was one of the Dutch citizens I interviewed in the streets of Amsterdam. He has been a florist for a few decades and was outspoken anti-European Union. As a small vendor, he felt like the EU was mostly for the elites.

Tel. + 31 62 15 12 107

• Cor and Ria Janmaat Cor and Ria run a cheese farm and travel through the Netherlands to sell their cheese. I interviewed them at a local market. Given the fact that they sell their cheese across borders too, they were more optimistic about the European Union.

Mail: [email protected]

•

24 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018 She is a Member of the European Parliament for the Dutch party CDA. She is also vice-president of the European People’s Party Group.

Mail: [email protected]

2. WRITTEN SOURCES: WEBSTITES, ARTICLES AND STUDIES

WEBSITES

• https://europa.eu:

Ø https://europa.eu/cultural-heritage/news/eurobarometer-2018-results-have- been-published_en

• www.europedia.moussis.eu:

Ø http://www.europedia.moussis.eu/books/Book_2/2/1/1/02/index.tkl?lang=en &all=1&pos=6&s=1&e=10

• www.europarl.europa.eu:

Ø http://www.europarl.europa.eu/atyourservice/en/displayFtu.html?ftuId=FTU_ 1.1.2.html

• http://ec.europa.eu/: • Ø http://ec.europa.eu/commfrontoffice/publicopinion/index.cfm/Chart/getChart/ chartType/lineChart//themeKy/26/groupKy/314/savFile/867

• https://forumvoordemocratie.nl:

Ø https://forumvoordemocratie.nl/standpunten/europese-unie

• http://frontbencher.nl/

Ø http://frontbencher.nl/peilingen/

• www.imf.org/en/publications

• https://www.ipsos.com:

Ø https://www.ipsos.com/nl-nl/politieke-barometer Ø https://www.ipsos.com/nl-nl/politieke-barometer-week-22

ARTICLES

“Dutch Skepticism About the EU Remains a Force”, , 28 Jan 2018.

“The Norway option: what is it and what does it mean for Britain?”, , 28 Oct 2015.

25 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018

“The Dutch Are More Eurosceptic than the British: Netherlands MP Thierry Baudet”, PanAm Post, 22 June 2017.

“Forum for Democracy: New Dutch Eurosceptic party that wants EU referendum now polling in second place”, The Independent UK, 19 Feb 2018.

“Nederland had flink profijt van de euro”, Financieel Dagblad, 3 Oct 2017.

“New Dutch ‘Nexit’ party threatens Rutte”, , 21 March 2018.

“Opvallende politieke stabiliteit”, Financieel Dagblad, 2 March 2017.

“Weakening the EU from within – A conversation with Hans Vollaard”, EUVisions, 13 March 2017.

“Is een democratisch en social EU à la Rutte III haalbaar?”, De Hofvijver (7/81), 18 Dec 2017.

“Mark Rutte: tegen wil en dank het goudlokje van Europa”, HP De Tijd, 7 Dec 2017.

“Wat er ook gebeurt, Forum voor Democratie blijft groeien”, Trouw, 10 March 2018.

“Don’t worry about Nexit (well maybe just a bit)”, Politico, 3 March 2017.

“Why the Dutch won’t rush to Nexit and follow Britain out of the EU”, The Guardian, 24 June 2016.

“In a traumatized Netherlands, faith in the EU is plummeting”, The Guardian, 6 June 2016.

“PvdA nu eurokritisch: minder macht voor EU”, De Volkskrant, 14 Oct 2015.

“Met deze EMU kiest Europa de verkeerde weg”, De Volkskrant, 13 Feb 1997.

“Thierry Baudet: ‘Veel mensen vinden een vertrek uit de EU erg beanstigend”, Business Insider, 7 March 2017.

STUDIES, BOOKS AND PDF FILES

BOS, Bob R.A. van den. Mirakel en debacle: de Nederlandse besluitvorming over de Politieke Unie in het Verdrag van Maastricht, Doctoral thesis at Leiden University, 2008.

LUBBERS, M. et JASPERS E. A longitudinal study of Euroscepticism in the Netherlands: 2008 versus 1990, Article in European Union Politics (12/1), 2011.

VOLLAARD, H. et BOER, B. Euroscepticism in the Netherlands, Paper prepared for the EpsNet conference ‘European in Context: Debating the Project’, Central European University, Budapest, 16 and 17 june 2006.

VOLLAARD, H. Van aanvallen! Naar verdedigen?, Boom Lemma Uitgevers, 2015.

YOUTUBE

26 Sofyan EL Bouchtili Europe in the World 2017-2018 Examiner: Asbjørn Jørgensen Final Exam Project 8 June 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVSPDRvzBzo

Forum for Democracy event livestream upload – Brexit. Opportunities for Britain and the Netherlands – Daniel Hannan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaqJrfajeLo

Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank is questioned by Dutch Parliamentarians. Thierry Baudet asks questions relating to Nexit and the euro.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QerfoM9J9rE

Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank is questioned by Dutch Parliamentarians. Thierry Baudet asks questions relating to Nexit and the euro.

27