Working with the European Community

Professor Andriessen, welcome to Berkeley. Tell us a little about what draws a Dutch political leader, like yourself, into the process of European political integration.

For the Dutch, more than for many other countries in Europe, European integration always has been a very fascinating and very stimulating adventure, like for the Belgians, Luxembourgers. The Germans to a certain extent, the French, Italians, but the Benelux [nations], Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, have always taken a very special interest. Perhaps it has to do with an international orientation of these countries, perhaps due to the fact that they are small countries. They are outward-looking countries. The Dutch, the Belgians, particularly the Flemish, have always had that idea. So I think that is the basis.

For me as a politician, from the moment that I was in the Dutch Parliament in '67, I did realize that Europe is our future. Being floor leader of my political group, I always was very interested in what our people were doing in Strasbourg and the European Parliament. So when I resigned as Minister of Finance, I asked the government to be appointed as the Commissioner for the Netherlands in the European Commission, which is, as you know, a kind of beginning of European government, to put it in a fairly simple way. And, then, it goes on and goes on. So, I have always been an international-oriented man and, in particular, toward the European Community.

What is the difference between being a national political leader in a national arena, and a national political leader in an international arena like the European Community?

The European Community is very special, and I have always said that many, many of my colleagues didn't practice that. When you go to the European Commission, you should forget that you are a national politician. You should, at least intentionally, give up your ambitions to go back in that national politics. I don't say you should never do it. But as long as you are there, you have to function for another entity. The European Community and the integration process is something which goes beyond the national boundaries, the national interests. I have always -- and I can tell you, I resigned under very dramatic circumstances (I won't go into the details now) -- always refused to comment on Dutch policies from the moment that I was in Brussels, with one exception, and that was their European policy. Because that was my task: to criticize, to offer comments, or to recommend if it was ok. But as I said, it was not daily practice. For me, it was not difficult.

In a national context, you try to defend as much as you possibly can the Dutch, in my case, or your national interests. That's what you are for. The national common interest is your goal. In Europe, the European interest is your goal. That is not separate from the national interest, but it is just a bit more than the national interest. That is the basic difference.

Is there more idealism in this new line of work, as opposed to the old, because so much of Europe is an idea in becoming?

You can say that people devoting themselves to the European case, to a certain extent, are more idealistic than other people you meet in politics. But I have to add immediately, you cannot be a good politician without having ideals. It's absolutely impossible in my view.

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