U bevindt zich op: Home › Government › Previous governments › Balkenende II Government › Speech from the Throne 2003 Huidig dossier: Balkenende II Government

Foreign Affairs: maintain international influence

News item | 16-09-2003

The Netherlands will strive to maintain and, where necessary, increase its influence on international developments. International commitments must not be jeopardised by the focus on domestic affairs.

Existing budgetary resources for peace, security and conflict management will be amalgamated to form a new fund for peace and stability. A permanent fund will obviate the need for ad hoc solutions when a response to international conflict situations is required.
Cooperation within the EU and NATO will be essential to the fight against terrorism.

Europe
During the second half of 2004, the Netherlands is to hold the EU presidency. Major issues in this period will be:

• cooperation with the newly elected European Parliament and the composition of a new European Commission;
• new European agreements on asylum, migration and integration;
• improving cooperation on securing the Union's external borders and measures to deal with cross-border crime;
• EU finance;
• evaluating the Lisbon Strategy;
• reform of the common agricultural and fisheries policy;
• completion of accession negotiations with Bulgaria and Romania;
• relationship between Turkey and the European Union;
• relations with the United States;
• action to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Over the next few years, the accession of ten new Member States to the European Union will mean substantial changes. This will also be a major theme of the Dutch presidency in 2004. The Netherlands welcomes enlargement providing that agreements are carefully implemented.

Development cooperation
The Minister for Development Cooperation Agnes van Ardenne believes that the private sector can make a major contribution to national development. Action will therefore be taken to increase cooperation between government, individual citizens, the private sector and international and national NGOs.

Expenditure on foreign policy currently totals €5.3 billion, of which €3.8 billion is spent on development cooperation. The government will continue to devote 0.8% of GNP to development cooperation.