Europese liberalen zijn geen federalisten - Hoofdinhoud
De Europese liberalen zijn verenigd in de ELDR-partij. De fractie daarvan in het Europees Parlement heet ALDE. Dat werkt een beetje verwarrend. Het voorstel is dan ook die namen gelijk te trekken. Prima plan. Daarnaast zijn er meer voorstellen gedaan om gezamenlijke programma’s te maken en gezamenlijke kandidaten naar voren te schuiven voor Europese posten. Over deze punten is de VVD niet onverdeeld positief. Helaas kan ik niet namens de VVD afreizen naar het ELDR-congres in Dublin in verband met het aantreden van de nieuwe regering en debatten daaromtrent. Wij hebben ons standpunt in een brief gestuurd aan de voorzitter, Sir Graham Watson. Voor wie meer wil weten over waar de VVD in de Europese liberale familie staat, hieronder de brief:
Thank you for informing us about the proposals which will be made by the party’s bureau to the council and the congress in Dublin. The VVD highly appreciates your efforts and the ceaseless energy with which you lead our party to face the challenges of the future. As you know, the new Dutch government formed by the VVD and PvdA will be appointed today. This means that the ELDR Congress will take place in a very turbulent week in Dutch politics. The VVD regrets that for this reason we will not be able to sent all the delegates we hoped we could to Dublin. To make sure the position of the VVD regarding the future of ELDR is clear we take this opportunity to state the position of the VVD on the proposals addressed in your letter.
We support the proposal to adopt a manifesto for the European Parliament’s elections in 2014 wholeheartedly. For the VVD it is crucial that ideas which will form the basis for this manifesto will be in line with the common views shared by all the member parties which make up the ELDR. The VVD cannot accept the adoption of an ELDR election Manifesto which will refer to goals not shared by the VVD, such as the establishment of pan-European political parties or references to the future of the European Union in the form of a federal state. We trust the manifesto will not be used to further these political aims within the ELDR.
The second proposal made in your letter is about how and when we should select candidates for the top EU posts to be appointed in 2014. The VVD recognises the advantages of shared candidates but we have doubts with regards to it’s practical realism and the image it will project towards our electorates. We feel the ELDR should focus on promoting it’s ideological message and gaining support amongst our voters and has doubts if claiming top EU positions for potential ELDR candidates helps us in that regard. The inevitable consequence will be that most of our candidates will fail in their attempt to gain a top position which will make a negative contribution towards the image the ELDR projects to our potential voters. Furthermore suitable candidates can only be elected after elections since only then will we know what the political landscape will look like. We hereby strongly urge the party not to make a decision on this proposal during the coming Congress in Dublin.
The final proposal being made by the bureau is changing the name of our party. The VVD understands the need for more clarity with regards to our name and recognises the importance of the financial benefits it will have as a consequence. We trust that a name change will not have any consequences regarding the potential enlargement of our party. As you know the VVD has a strong classical liberal conviction and deems it of major importance not to water down the central position of the liberal ideology within the ELDR. Any potential enlargement with parties on the green/left side of the political spectrum will be met with the strongest disapproval from our side.
We hope that this letter has provided clarity on the position of the VVD regarding the bureau proposals. If there is need for any further clarification our international secretary, Pieter van de Stadt, is at your full disposal. We look forward to a successful and fruitful congress in Dublin later this week and we are confident it will offer our delegates a great time.