THE HAGUE, 18/11/06 - The Netherlands must make its own voice heard abroad more forcefully to remain successful in a changing world, Foreign Minister Bernard Bot believes. "The Netherlands has passed the station of Crazy Harry."

Hitherto, the Netherlands has primarily aimed at multilateral organisations such as the EU, NATO and the UN. A change in emphasis is however necessary, as Dutch interests are not always identical to those of these organisations, said Bot in a lecture at the Netherlands Institute for International Relations (Clingendael).

The minister said national profiling is terribly necessary for the Netherlands. "If big countries systematically run the show, without leaving much of importance to other countries, there is simply no other remaining choice for us."

Bot wants to move from a 'pure' to a 'realistic' multilateralism. This does not mean the Netherlands will give up its constructive attitude in the international organisations. "But it does mean, to put it bluntly, that Crazy Harry's station has been passed." He was referring among other things to the Netherlands' high net contributor position in the EU - although Dutch contributions have recently been reduced by 1 billion euros.

The minister believes pure multilateralism can produce naive features, with the Netherlands behaving like the teacher's pet. In his eyes, it is better if the Netherlands increasingly holds its own views. The idealist within him is convinced the Netherlands can actually then make a better contribution to an EU of political weight, a successful NATO and an effective UN.

Bot fears the EU is vulnerable and will lose political and economic authority in the future. Among other reasons, this will happen because the biggest EU member states follow their own path and opt for collaboration between heads of states over and above Brussels. This is related to rapid enlargement to 27 member states without adapting cumbersome decision-making and administration procedures.

The EU will also lose importance due to the rise of China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa. These emerging powers will seek salvation in other partnerships if existing organisations do not give them enough say, Bot predicts.