THE WEEK THAT WAS... (November 19, 2013)

The answer is yes according to the Dutch liberal leader Frits Bolkestein, a former European Commissioner for the Internal Market. A demonstration that the rise of Eurosceptic parties across the EU has put the debate on more or less European integration at the top of the liberal agenda. Bolkestein is neither a Eurosceptic nor a populist, but, in his opinion, by going much too far in their approach of the EU, Verhofstadt and his fellow European federalists are a greater danger to Europe than Eurosceptics.

The liberal party leader in the European Parliament Verhofstadt, a former Belgian Prime-Minister, is indeed one of the EU’s most ardent federalist advocates. He published a few years ago a book called ‘The United States of Europe’. No misunderstanding possible. Bolkestein: ‘Verhofstadt thinks you can abolish the nation state. That’s rubbish, and his eurofederalism is rubbish too’. ‘People don’t want a federal Europe. So he should stop talking about it’, the Dutch liberal continues, he is ’barking at the moon’!

But see, another liberal coryphée, the current Dutch European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, objected to the remarks of het party colleague Bolkestein, and told journalists that Guy Verhofstadt ‘carries the support of the Dutch liberal party’ to become the liberal candidate for the European Commission Presidency.

An interesting intervention by Ms Neelie Kroes: in 2004 Verhofstadt was suggested to become Commission President but then his candidacy was rejected by the European Council because of concerns over his federalist stance.