I’m an optimist at heart … Brexit will offer the EU a chance to renew its founding principles.
Don’t ever tell a Dutch citizen its nation is a province of Germany… you’ll be cursed. There is bitter rivalry between the two nations, especially as a result of the German occupation and atrocities from 1940-45. For economic reasons the nations depend on another, especially through the port city of Rotterdam delivering goods, especially raw material to the industrial area of Dusseldorf. The Netherlands provides a logistics hub to Europe. On the political side the two nations are totally different and depends on the coalition in power. PM Mark Rutte is an outcast for Angela Merkel.
This weekend the foreign ministers of the six founding nations (EEC) of the European Union will gather for talks on Europe’s future. European leaders want to start the Brexit negotiations pronto!
Also meeting will be the core leaders of the six: Angela Merkel, Hollande, Italy’s Renzi with EU Council president Tusk of Poland. Indeed, PM Rutte nor any of the Benelux countries will be sitting at the table. Mark Rutte has performed as a lapdog of both David Cameron and Barack Obama and has joined in the NATO aggression against Putin and Russia. I’ve well covered this in recent years. Quite strange, as Dutch (PM Mark Rutte) has the presidency of the EU this half year. Mark him a F for failure.
- Ms Merkel expressed her “great regret” for the UK’s decision saying it was a “decisive point for Europe”. She emphasised the need for unity but also recognised that “Europe is varied and people in Europe are also varied” including in their “expectations from the EU”.
- Future initiatives must focus on “improving people’s lives”.
- But the EU also had to deal with the challenges of globalisation, she said.
- Ms Merkel added that the EU must recall its role in bringing peace to Europe.
“We must never forget, especially in these hours,
that the idea of European unity was an idea for peace.”
Indeed, tiny Holland puts its mark on production side of agricultural products as leading exporter next to the United States. The €82 billion is however just 19% of the total Dutch export.
As far as fossil fuels, it’s not oil but natural gas from Slochteren in Groningen that is a main export product, though not in any way sufficient to be of importance to Germany. For oil and gas, it’s Russia and Norway that lead the imports to Germany. Do recall the Northstream investment by Gazprom and the reward for former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder.
