Source: Aspen Review - issue 3/2013
Europe, at times, is its own worst enemy. Every crisis makes the EU paler, more powerless and more vulnerable. The disintegration of the EU is not an option; however; it is equivalent to political self-destruction. It is time for a new impulse. The corona crisis may turn out to be a useful catalyst. In this article, I will diagnose and prescribe for recovery.
Loyal readers of my articles will know that I am bothered by the dogmas and simplicity, which regularly burdens the energy debate. It is unproductive, often too selective in the facts used and it ignores the complexity of the challenges we face. In this article, I try, based on an extensive investigation of the available data, to explore this issue and to find starting points for future policy and actions — both for The Netherlands as elsewhere.
The Dutch depend on cooperation and compromise to keep their feet dry. For a country which is two-third below sea level, this is an existential necessity. They use the same approach in politics to broker solutions between parties with conflicting interests in complex matters. This model is also known as the 'polder' or ‘polderen'. The success with which the Dutch apply it to tackling complex issues proves it works. This article shows that the Netherlands is outperforming other countries in this area to the benefit of its citizens.
The General Government Performance Index (GGPI) maps yields of government policy decisions benefitting citizens, against the burden to produce those. It provides a surprising insight into the results of policy choices made. In the 2018 edition of the GGPI, we also take a close look at how general government performance, translates into political support for the policies pursued.
Source: ECN
By the end of this year, the Dutch political community will need to cough up a National Climate Agreement backed by a as broad as possible political coalition. The ambition is there, and the signs are favorable, but still a lot of checking and fine tuning needs to be done before this is a reality. In this article, I attempt to disentangle the complexity of the various aspects of the energy transition process before us and also try to map out what should and should not be done to obtain the broad popular support required to make this necessary conversion, work.
