Summary
Dick Benschop
De dynamiek van Netwerk Europa : Nederlands oude en nieuwe partnerschappen
Dick Benschop deals with ‘the Dynamics of Network Europe’. Europe's integration process is proceeding swiftly. Paradoxically, bilateral contacts are soaring. Europe is no longer ‘foreign’, but ‘domestic’. Demand for national policy input is growing accordingly. The legal programme, especially in the field of the internal market, has almost been finalised. However, the integration process continues with new methods and along new paths. Brussels' blueprints make way for so called soft politics like benchmarking, best practices and peer reviews, thus creating a formal and informal interaction between member states: competing for the best ideas on the one hand, and co-ordinating and fine-tuning on the other. That gives member states a fresh and meaningful position in the integration process. The EU as a catalyst of European integration is witnessing active member states who are increasingly driving the process forward. A network Europe is burgeoning which is able to deal with the enlargement effectively.